Ross Spano | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromFlorida's15th district | |
| In office January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Dennis Ross |
| Succeeded by | Scott Franklin |
| Member of theFlorida House of Representatives from the 59th district | |
| In office November 6, 2012 – November 6, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Redistricted |
| Succeeded by | Adam Hattersley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Vincent Ross Spano (1966-07-16)July 16, 1966 (age 59) Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Amie |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | University of South Florida (BA) Florida State University (JD) |
Vincent Ross Spano (born July 16, 1966) is an American politician who served as theU.S. representative fromFlorida's 15th congressional district. The district stretches fromLakeland to the northeastern suburbs ofTampa. ARepublican, he was first elected to Congress in the2018 elections. He ran for reelection in the 2020 election but was defeated in the Republican primary.
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Ross Spano was born inTampa and currently lives in nearbyDover. He graduated fromBrandon High School. He later attended theUniversity of South Florida, where he graduated with a BA in history in 1994, and theFlorida State University College of Law, receiving a JDcum laude in 1998, where he was a member of the FSU moot court team and the FSU Journal of Transnational Law and Policy. Ross Spano was admitted to the Florida bar the same year.
In 2012, following the reconfiguration of theFlorida House of Representatives districts, Spano ran in the newly created 59th District, and faced Joe Wicker, Betty Jo Tompkins, and Mike Floyd in theRepublican primary. He emerged victorious with 40% of the vote, with Wicker close behind having 38% of the vote. Spano ran in the general election against theDemocratic nominee, Gail Gottlieb. Spano defeated Gottlieb with 51% of the vote, coming out ahead by 1,051 votes.[2]
In the Florida House of Representatives, Spano serves on the Choice and Innovation Subcommittee, Civil Justice Subcommittee, Health Quality Subcommittee, Higher Education & Workforce Subcommittee, and Judiciary Committee. Ross Spano also served on the Federal Judicial Nominating Commission during his tenure in the Florida House.
While serving in the legislature Spano authored numerous pieces ofhuman trafficking legislation. He sponsored a bill to allow judges "to vacate certain criminal convictions if the offender can prove that they committed them under duress," as would happen in a situation in which someone had been illegally trafficked.[3]
In 2017, Spano sponsored a resolution declaring that the viewing of pornography was causing a "public health crisis."[4]
In 2018, Spano ran to represent Florida's 15th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Neil Combee in the Republican primary, winning approximately 44% of the votes to Combee's 34%.[5] Spano went on to faceDemocratic candidate Kristen Carlson in the general election. Spano defeated Carlson, receiving 53% of the vote to Carlson's 47%.[6] It was the closest race in the district in 26 years, whenCharles Canady only won by five points in 1992 in what was then the 12th District. Additionally, it was only the fourth time that a Democrat had managed 40 percent of the vote in the district sinceAndy Ireland switched parties in 1984 in what was then the 10th District (it was renumbered the 12th in 1992, and has been the 15th since 2013).[citation needed]
During Spano's election to the House of Representatives in 2018, he loaned his campaign more than $100,000 from what he reported as personal funds - a move that drew media attention as financial disclosures forms filed by Spano indicated that he did not have the necessary funds to loan himself the reported amount. It was later reported that Spano had been lent the money by friends.[7][8] In December 2018, Spano wrote in a news release that his campaign financing "may have been in violation of the Federal Campaign Finance Act".[9] In November 2019, it was reported that the Justice Department was conducting a criminal investigation into Spano over possible campaign finance violations. Spano has denied any wrongdoing.[10]
In August 2020, Spano narrowly lost the primary for renomination by the Republican Party toScott Franklin.[11][12]
Spano gained attention when he quotedcivil rights leaderCoretta Scott King to explain his opposition to theEquality Act, which wouldoutlaw discrimination on the basis ofsexual orientation andgender identity; King was a leading supporter ofLGBT rights.[13]
On December 18, 2019, Spano voted againstboth articles of impeachment against Trump.
In December 2020, Spano was one of 126 Republican members of theHouse of Representatives who signed anamicus brief in support ofTexas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at theUnited States Supreme Court contesting the results of the2020 presidential election, in whichJoe Biden prevailed[14] over incumbentDonald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lackedstanding underArticle III of the Constitution to challenge the results of the election held by another state.[15][16][17]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ross Spano | 26,868 | 44.1 | |
| Republican | Neil Combee | 20,577 | 33.8 | |
| Republican | Sean Harper | 6,013 | 9.9 | |
| Republican | Danny Kushmer | 4,061 | 6.7 | |
| Republican | Ed Shoemaker | 3,377 | 5.5 | |
| Total votes | 60,896 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ross Spano | 151,380 | 53.0 | |
| Democratic | Kristen Carlson | 134,132 | 47.0 | |
| Independent | Dave Johnson (write-in) | 15 | 0.0 | |
| Independent | Jeffrey G. Rabinowitz (write-in) | 3 | 0.0 | |
| Independent | Alek Bynzar (write-in) | 2 | 0.0 | |
| Total votes | 285,532 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Scott Franklin | 30,718 | 51.2 | |
| Republican | Ross Spano (incumbent) | 29,240 | 48.8 | |
| Total votes | 59,958 | 100.0 | ||
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromFlorida's 15th congressional district 2019–2021 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
