Thomas Ortega

Thomas John Ortega (born November 18, 1967) is an American politician who is serving as the 48th Governor of Florida since 2019, having previously served twice as the state's governor. A member of the Democratic Party, Ortega previously served as the U.S. Senator from the Northeast from 2007 to 2009 and again from 2015 to 2017. Ortega also served in the House of Representatives from 2009 to 2015 and served as the 57th Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2014, and before that served in the Walker administration as the 66th United States Secretary of State from 2003 to 2005 and as the 21st White House Chief of Staff for eleven months in 2003.

Ortega was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2008 until the presidential nominee, Mike Hodges, decided to drop out of the race. Ortega was also the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016 until he suspended his campaign after seeing no path ahead in the race. In 2020, Ortega was again the Democratic vice presidential nominee, running alongside incumbent Isabella Marto until Marto dropped out, making Ortega the presidential nominee. He and his running mate, Tristan Banks, make up the Democratic ticket in the 2020 election.