LGBTQ+ Florida lawmaker Shevrin Jones launches congressional bid

Out Florida lawmaker Shevrin Jones has officially filed for Congress in an open Miami-area seat. He will launch his campaign Tuesday in Pembroke Pines.

“I shared that I would not be seeking re-election to the Florida Senate. I also told you that when I was ready to share what comes next, you will hear directly from me,” Jones said in a social media video. “Well, next Tuesday that time has come, and I want you all to meet me where it all started.

Jones, a Miami Gardens Democrat, made history in 2020 with his election as Florida’s first out state Senator. Should he win election in Florida’s 24th Congressional District, where incumbent U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson announced her retirement last week, Jones will become the first openly gay Congressman elected in Florida.

He will likely face a competitive primary. Miami-Dade County Commissioner Oliver Gilbert told Florida Politics on Thursday that he is also running for the seat. But whoever wins the Democratic primary will be heavily favored in the deep-blue district.

Before his election to the Florida Senate, Jones served in the Florida House. At the time he first won office, he was married to a woman. He later divorced and, in 2018, publicly came out by allowing Equality Florida to list him as an endorsed LGBTQ+ candidate.

During his tenure in the Florida Senate, he has been one of the Legislature’s most outspoken advocates for LGBTQ+ rights, particularly during the years-long crackdown on LGBTQ+ protections led by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

In 2022, he delivered an emotional floor speech opposing Florida’s first-in-the-nation “Don’t Say Gay” law, which restricts classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools. There, he detailed the challenges he faced coming out to family members, including his father, a church leader.

"I don't think y'all understand how much courage it takes to show up every day," Jones said in a tearful speech on the Senate floor. "Imagine living your life for 30 years and you coming to your parents and you talk about who you are. And you're lying to them about who you are."

Since then, Jones has become one of Florida’s most prominent Democratic voices. He has served as chair of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party and has frequently been mentioned as a potential future candidate for governor. Earlier this year, however, he passed on a statewide bid. Before Wilson announced her retirement, Jones was widely expected to be in line to become Democratic leader of the Florida Senate in 2028.