Lois Frankel
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromFlorida
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2013
Preceded by	Allen West
Constituency	22nd district (2013–2017) 21st district (2017–2023) 22nd district (2023–present)
Mayor of West Palm Beach
In office March 27, 2003 – March 31, 2011
Preceded by	Joel T. Daves III
Succeeded by	Jeri Muoio
Member of theFlorida House of Representatives
In office November 8, 1994 – November 5, 2002
Preceded by	Mimi McAndrews
Succeeded by	Shelley Vana
Constituency	85th district
In office November 4, 1986 – November 3, 1992
Preceded by	Eleanor Weinstock
Succeeded by	Redistricted
Constituency	83rd district
Personal details
Born	Lois Jane Frankel (1948-05-16)May 16, 1948 (age 77) New York City,New York, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	Boston University (BA) Georgetown University (JD)
Website	House website Campaign website
Frankel's voice Frankel supporting theSpeak Out Act. Recorded November 16, 2022

Lois Jane Frankel (/ˈfræŋkəl/FRANG-kəl; born May 16, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer who has been theUnited States representative forFlorida's 22nd congressional district since 2023, having previously served it from 2013 to 2017. As a member of theDemocratic Party, she representedthe 21st congressional district from 2017 to 2023, was a 7-term member of theFlorida House of Representatives, and wasmayor ofWest Palm Beach for two terms.

Frankel was a member of the Florida House for fourteen years, serving as Minority Whip and later Minority Leader of the Florida State House.^[1] She was elected mayor of West Palm Beach in 2003,^[1] serving two terms in office until leaving office in 2011 due to term limits. Frankel additionally ran unsuccessful campaigns to run for the US House of Representatives in 1992 and forGovernor of Florida in 2002.

Frankel was born to a Jewish family on May 16, 1948,^[2] inNew York City and received abachelor's degree fromBoston University in 1970. She earned aJuris Doctor fromGeorgetown University Law Center in 1973.^[3] Frankel moved toWest Palm Beach, Florida, in 1974.^[1]

In 1986 incumbent Democratic state representative Eleanor Weinstock of the 83rd district decided to run for a seat in theFlorida Senate. Frankel ran for Weinstock's open seat in the Florida House and defeated Republican nominee Gerald Adams 69%–31%.^[4] In 1988 she won reelection to a second term unopposed;^[5] in 1990 she again was unopposed.^[6]

In November 1991 Frankel resigned as state representative to run for Congress in 1992.^[7] Mimi McAndrews, a former aide of Frankel's, was elected to replace her. Frankel lost to fellow Democratic representativeAlcee Hastings in the 1992 congressional primary. In 1994 Frankel defeated McAndrews in the Democratic primary for her old State House seat.^[8] Frankel won the November general election with 55% of the vote.^[9] In 1996, she won reelection to a fifth term with 68% of the vote.^[10]

In 1998 Frankel was reelected to a sixth term with 64% of the vote.^[11] In 2000 she was reelected to a seventh term with 63% of the vote.^[12]

During her first period as a state legislator, Frankel was State House Majority Whip.^[13] While in office from 1995 to 2003, she became the first female HouseMinority Leader in Florida's history and co-authored a change to Florida's already existingAIDS omnibus law originally passed in 1988.^[1] She left office due to term limits in 2002 after serving 14 years in the State House.^[1][3]

• Fiscal Responsibility Council
• AIDS Task Force (committee chair)
• Select Committee of the Whole
• Select Committee on Child Abuse & Neglect (committee chair)^[14]

In 1992 Frankel retired from the State House to run for the newly createdFlorida's 23rd district. In the Democratic primary she came in first with 35% of the vote, but failed to reach the 50% threshold necessary to win outright and avoid a runoff election.^[15] In the runoff, formerU.S. District Court JudgeAlcee Hastings defeated Frankel 57%–43%.^[1][16]

In 2002, Frankel entered and then dropped out of the2002 election forGovernor of Florida, in whichGovernorJeb Bush won re-election.^[1]

On March 11, 2003, Frankel defeated incumbent DemocraticWest Palm Beach MayorJoel T. Daves III in the mayoral election.^[1] She was endorsed in the race by former West Palm Beach Mayor Nancy Graham.^[1] Frankel won with 56% of the vote to Daves's 38%.^[1][17] She was sworn into office on March 27, 2003. In 2007 she was reelected, defeating Al Zucaro by 58%–42%.^[18]

On March 31, 2011, due to term limits, Frankel left office after two terms. In the race to succeed her, West Palm Beach city commissionerJeri Muoio was elected that month with 51% of the vote, on a platform of business development and pension reform.^[19]

On March 21, 2011, Frankel announced that she would run in the newly redrawnFlorida's 22nd congressional district in the2012 House election. She was initially due to face freshman incumbentRepublicanAllen West,^[20] but redistricting had made the 22nd much more Democratic than its predecessor, prompting West to move to the neighboring 18th district and seek reelection there. On August 14 Frankel won the Democratic primary over Kristin Jacobs, and advanced to the general election against RepublicanAdam Hasner.^[21]

Frankel was criticized for accepting $20,000 from Digital Domain Media Group for her campaign five months after the company was awarded a downtown project that included incentives from the city of West Palm Beach, and in response vowed to give the contribution to charity.^[22] She won the general election on November 6, 2012, defeating Hasner 54.7% to 45.3%.^[23]

With no Democratic primary opponents, Frankel won the general election on November 4, 2014, defeating Republican Paul Spain, winner of his low-turnout primary, 58% to 42%.^[24]

For her first two terms, Frankel represented a district covering several coastal areas in southern Palm Beach County and northernBroward County, from West Palm Beach toFort Lauderdale.

After aFlorida Supreme Court-ordered redistricting, Frankel's district was renumbered the 21st. It lost its share of Broward County, becoming a more compact district in southern Palm Beach County. The justices suggested that it was more logical to have just one district splitting Broward and Palm Beach counties.^[25] Her opponent was again Republican Paul Spain. The new 21st was no less Democratic than the old 22nd, and Frankel won with 63% of the vote to Spain's 35%.

With no primary or general opponents, Frankel was reelected.^[26]

With 86% of the vote, Frankel won the Democratic primary against Guido Weiss, a former adviser to RepresentativeTulsi Gabbard.^[27] Frankel went on to win the November general election, defeating Republican nomineeLaura Loomer, afar-right activist and conspiracy theorist.^[28][29] Loomer's candidacy was widely considered a long shot,^[30][31][32] despite endorsements from high-profile Republicans including PresidentDonald Trump, RepresentativeMatt Gaetz, and former Trump adviserRoger Stone.^[33][32]

Lois Frankel ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and defeated Republican Dan Franzese in the general election, winning 55% to Franzese's 44%.

Incumbent Lois Frankel ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. She faced a rematch with Republican challenger Dan Franzese in the general election. Frankel defeated Franzese again, this time by 10 points.

For the118th Congress:^[34]

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs

• Black Maternal Health Caucus^[35]
• Congressional Arts Caucus^[36]
• Congressional Taiwan Caucus^[37]
• United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus^[38]
• U.S.-Japan Caucus^[39]
• Medicare for All Caucus
• Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment^[40]
• Congressional Equality Caucus^[41]

• Congressional Progressive Caucus (c. 2016–2023)[42]

Frankel supported PresidentDonald Trump's decision torecognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, saying, "The President's announcement today is consistent with current U.S. law and reaffirms what we already know: Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish people and the State of Israel."^[43]

Frankel voted to provide Israel with support following2023 Hamas attack on Israel.^[44][45]

Frankel supports gun control measures, which she calls "common-sense legislation." Specifically, she supports ahigh-capacity magazine ban,universal background checks, and a ban onbump stocks.^[46]Frankel supports repealing the 1996Dickey Amendment, which discourages theCDC from researching gun violence prevention.^[47]Following thePulse nightclub shooting, Frankel said, "This Congress offers lots ofthoughts and sympathies when people are massacred by firearms, but no action to stop the carnage."^[48]After theSutherland Springs church shooting, Frankel expressed her frustration with gun lobbying organizations and the inaction of Congress, saying: "We'll pause for a moment of silence and then this Congress will do nothing because the NRA has a stranglehold on it."^[49]She has an "F" rating from the NRA, indicating that the organization does not believe that she protects gun rights.^[50]

During her tenure in the House, Frankel has voted on several pieces of gun legislation. She voted againstH. R. 38 (theConcealed Carry Reciprocity Act), which would enableconcealed carry reciprocity among all states.^[51]In March 2017 Frankel voted against theVeterans Second Amendment Protection Act, which would allow veterans who are considered "mentally incompetent" to purchase ammunition and firearms unless declared a danger by a judge.^[52]

On December 18, 2019, Frankel voted toimpeach President Donald J. Trump.^[53] She did so againon January 13, 2021.^[54]

She is the chair of the Elect Democratic Women PAC.^[55]

• List of Jewish members of the United States Congress
• Women in the United States House of Representatives

Wikimedia Commons has media related toLois Frankel.

• Congresswoman Lois Frankel official U.S. House website
• Lois Frankel for Congress
• Appearances onC-SPAN

• Biography at theBiographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at theFederal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at theLibrary of Congress
• Profile atVote Smart

• 1948 births
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