Ron DeSantis

Ronald Dion “Ron” DeSantis (born September 14, 1978) is an American politician who has been the United States Representative for FL's 6th congressional district since 2013.

Early life and education
DeSantis was born in 1978 in Jacksonville, Florida. He graduated from Dunedin High School in Dunedin in 1997. He matriculated at Yale University, where he was captain of the varsity baseball team in his senior year. He graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in History in 2001. He earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2005.

Military service
Ron DeSantis was sworn into the Judge Advocate General Corps of the U.S. Navy at the US Naval Reserve Center in Dallas, Texas in 2004 while still a student at the Harvard Law School, completing U.S. Naval Justice School in 2005. Later that year, he received orders from Trial Service Office Command South East at the Naval Station Mayport, Florida as a military prosecutor. In 2006, he was promoted to Lieutenant (O-3). He worked for the Joint Task Force-Guantanamo Commander (JTF-GTMO), working directly with incarcerated terrorists at the Guantanamo Bay Joint Detention Facility.

In 2007, Lt. DeSantis reported to the Naval Special Warfare Command Group in Coronado, California, where he was assigned to SEAL Team One and deployed to Iraq with the troop surge as the Legal Advisor to the SEAL Commander, Special Operations Task Force-West in Fallujah.

He returned to CONUS in April 2008, at which time he was reassigned to the Naval Region Legal Service. He earned an appointment with the U.S. Department of Justice to serve as a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida. Lt. DeSantis was assigned as a Trial Defense Counsel until his Honorable Discharge from active duty in February 2010. He concurrently accepted a Reserve commission as a Lieutenant, Judge Advocate General Corps, in the US Navy Reserve. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Iraq Campaign Medal.

Journalist career
He has authored a book entitled Dreams From Our Founding Fathers: First Principles in the Age of Obama, which was published in 2011. He has also been teaching U.S. Military Law at Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville. His writing has appeared in National Review Online, Washington Times, American Spectator, Human Events, and American Thinker.

2012 election
After redistricting, he decided to run in the open Florida's 6th congressional district. He has been endorsed by former U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, U.S. Senator Mike Lee, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, Club for Growth, blogger Erick Erickson, businessman Donald Trump, and former U.S. Congressman Adam Putnam. He won the six-candidate Republican primary with 39% of the vote. The runner-up, State Representative Fred Costello, obtained 23% of the vote, 16 points behind DeSantis.

The 6th district was Republican leaning. In 2008, Republican presidential nominee John McCain would be projected to have won the newly redrawn 6th district with 53% of the vote. In 2010, Rick Scott is projected to have won the CD with 54% of the vote. In the November general election, DeSantis defeated Democrat Heather Beaven 57%-43%, winning all four counties.

Committee assignments

 * Committee on Foreign Affairs
 * Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia
 * Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
 * Committee on the Judiciary
 * Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice
 * Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet
 * Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
 * Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and the Census
 * Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Job Creation and Regulatory Affairs

Personal life
He has been married to Casey Black DeSantis for three years. Casey is an Emmy Award-winning television host of the show “First Coast Living.” They attend Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

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