Allison Tant

Allison Tant (born 1961)^[1] is an American former lobbyist, Democratic Party of Florida chair, and politician serving as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 9th district. She assumed office on November 3, 2020.

Allison Tant
Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 9th district
Incumbent
Assumed office November 3, 2020
Preceded by	Loranne Ausley
Chair of the Florida Democratic Party
In office 2014–2016
Preceded by	Rod Smith
Succeeded by	Stephen Bittel
Personal details
Born	1961 (age 63–64) Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Barry Richard
Children	3
Education	Florida State University (BA, BS)

Early life and education

Tant was born in Jacksonville, Florida. She attended Duncan U. Fletcher High School in Neptune Beach, Florida, graduating in 1979. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Florida State University.^[2]

Career

Tant has worked as a lobbyist for Holland & Knight and Steel Hector & Davis International.^[3] From 2014 to 2016, she served as chair of the Florida Democratic Party. In July, 2016, Tant cast Florida's ballots in the 2016 Democratic National Convention for Hillary Clinton. Tant did not seek re-election as chair after the 2016 United States elections, in which Hillary Clinton lost Florida to Donald Trump and Democrats gained only three seats in the Florida Legislature.^[4][5] In November 2020, Tant was elected to the Florida House of Representatives, succeeding Loranne Ausley.^[6]

Personal life

Tant is married to Barry Richard, an attorney and former member of the Florida House of Representatives who was one of several lawyers who represented George W. Bush in Bush v. Gore (2000).^[7] Tant and Richard have three children.^[8][9]

References

1. "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Allison Tant". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
2. "ALLISON TANT". myfloridahouse.gov. Archived from the original on 2021-05-02.
3. Company, Tampa Publishing. "Former lobbyist Allison Tant joins race to lead Florida Democratic Party". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2021-05-02. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
4. "Florida Democrats lose leader after poor showing in election". AP NEWS. 2016-11-11. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
5. "Florida Democratic Party chief Allison Tant won't seek re-election". Archived from the original on April 18, 2023.
6. "Allison Tant". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
7. "143. Quorum Call for State Representative Barry Richard (D., Coral Gables) | Tallahassee.com Community Blogs". Retrieved 2021-05-03.
8. "Power Couples". Tallahassee Magazine. 2012-06-25. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
9. "'Bush v. Gore' Lawyers Sound Off on Trump's Debate Comments". Law.com. Archived from the original on 2017-02-25. Retrieved 2021-05-03.