Pam Bondi

Pam Bondi

Republican Party

Prior offices

Attorney General of Florida

Successor: Ashley B. Moody

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Bildung

High school

King High School, 1983

Bachelor's

University of Florida, 1987

Law

Stetson Law School, 1990

Pam Bondi (R) (born November 17, 1966, in Tampa, Florida) was the 37th attorney general of Florida, serving from 2011 to 2019. Bondi was elected to the position on November 2, 2010, winning the general election over Democrat Dan Gelber with 54.8 percent of the vote. She was sworn in the following January. Bondi was re-elected in 2014. She was uncontested in the Republican primary and defeated Democrat George Sheldon and Libertarian Bill Wohlsifer in the general election on November 4, 2014.

Before becoming attorney general, Bondi served as both a prosecutor and an assistant state attorney in the Thirteenth Judicial District. She was a felony bureau chief and member of internal homicide, vehicular homicide, and DUI manslaughter committees. She resigned as prosecutor to pursue election to her current post.

As attorney general, Bondi was involved in legal challenges to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Florida was the lead plaintiff in the 26-state lawsuit against the ACA. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled to uphold the law in the summer of 2012.

In February 2017, Bondi was appointed to the Florida Constitution Revision Commission, a 37-member commission established in the state constitution to review and propose changes to the Florida Constitution.

Biography

Email [email protected] to notify us of updates to this biography.

Bondi was born in Tampa, Florida. She graduated from King High School in 1983 and went on to receive her bachelor's degree from the University of Florida in 1987. Following college, Bondi enrolled at Stetson Law School, where she completed her J.D. in 1990. She began her career immediately upon graduation.

Bondi served as a prosecutor in the state of Florida for 18 years. Before resigning to campaign for state attorney general, she worked as an assistant state attorney for the 13th Judicial District. In addition to these roles, Bondi was vice chair of the Florida Bar Grievance Committee and a member of the DUI manslaughter committee.

Bondi was recognized by the Tampa Bay Review as a 2001 Lawyers of Distinction Award recipient. Apart from her professional duties, she is also a member of the Tampa Bay United Way and of the University of Florida Gator Club Board of Directors.

Bildung

• Graduated from King High School (1983)
• Bachelor's degree (in criminal justice), University of Florida (1987)
• Juris Doctorate degree, Stetson Law School (1990)

Political career

Attorney General (2011-2019)

Bondi was elected the 37th Attorney General of Florida on November 2, 2010, and took office the next January. She won a second term in the 2014 elections. She served until 2019.

Florida Constitution Revision Commission

In February 2017, Bondi was appointed to the Florida Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) by automatic appointment.

The Florida Constitution Revision Commission is a 37-member commission provided for in the state constitution that reviews and proposes changes to the Florida Constitution. The CRC refers constitutional amendments directly to the ballot for a public vote. The commission convenes every 20 years. Members of the commission travel to different parts of Florida to perform research and receive public testimony before recommending these ballot measures.

The Constitution Revision Commission of 2017-2018 was composed of 37 members. Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, appointed 15 members of the CRC. President of the Florida Senate, Joe Negron (R), appointed nine members. Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, Richard Corcoran (R) appointed nine members. Jorge Labarga, chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court, appointed three members.

Elections

2018

See also: Florida attorney general election, 2018

Pam Bondi was not able to file for re-election due to term limits.

2014

See also: Florida attorney general election, 2014

Bondi ran for re-election as Florida Attorney General in 2014. She was uncontested for the Republican nomination in the August 26 primary. Bondi faced Democrat George Sheldon and Libertarian Bill Wohlsifer in the general election. Pam Bondi won the general election on November 4, 2014.

Results

Attorney General of Florida, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Pam Bondi Incumbent	55.1%	3,222,524
	Democratic	George Sheldon	42%	2,457,317
	Libertarian	Bill Wohlsifer	2.9%	169,394
Total Votes				5,849,235
Election results via Florida Division of Elections

Polls

Governor of Florida Hypothetical Match-Up Poll
Poll	Pam Bondi* (R)	George Sheldon (D)	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
Gravis Marketing April 23-25, 2014	45%	38%	11%	+/-3.0	907
Public Policy Poll January 16-21, 2014	37%	34%	29%	+/-6.3	591
AVERAGES	41%	36%	20%	+/-4.65	749
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

2010

See also: Florida Attorney General election, 2010

• General Election

• Bondi won the General Election on November 2, 2010 with 54.8% of the vote.

Attorney General of Florida, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Pam Bondi	54.8%	2,882,868
	Democratic	Dan Gelber	41.4%	2,181,377
	Nonpartisan	Jim Lewis	3.8%	199,147
Total Votes				5,263,392
Election results via Florida Department of State

• Primary Election

• Bondi defeated Joff Kottkamp and Holly Benson to secure the Republican primary nomination on August 24, 2010 with 37.9% of the vote.

Attorney General of Florida, 2010
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Pam Bondi	38%	459,022
Jeff Kottkamp	32.9%	397,781
Holly Benson	29.2%	352,573
Total Votes		1,209,376
Election results via Florida Department of State.

Campaign contributions

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The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may not represent all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer, and campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Pam Bondi campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Result	Contributions
2014	Attorney General of Florida		$3,740,816
2012	Attorney General of Florida		$0
2010	Attorney General of Florida		$2,583,702
Grand total raised			$6,324,518
Source: [ Follow the Money]

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. See the table below for more information about the campaign donors who supported Pam Bondi. Click [show] for more information.

Pam Bondi Campaign Contributions
	2014 Attorney General of Florida		2010 Attorney General of Florida
Total raised	$3,740,816		$2,583,702
Total raised by opponents	$898,817 (Democratic)		$3,079,853 (Democrat)
Top 5 contributors	Florida Republican Party	$1,449,370	Florida Republican Party	$893,011
	Public Fund	$328,016	State of Florida	$425,834
	Walt Disney	$39,000	Hospital Corp of America	$4,000
	Southern Garden Citrus Nursery	$19,500	Florida Retail Federation	$3,500
	Florida Association of Realtors	$9,000	The Villages	$3,000
Individuals	$840,737		$697,318
Institutions	$2,572,064 ($328,016 other)		$562,089
In-state donations	$3,448,779		$2,487,158
Out-of-state donations	$286,738 ($5,300 unknown)		$88,820

Noteworthy events

Impeachment of President Donald Trump

See also: Impeachment of Donald Trump

On February 5, 2020, President Donald Trump (R) was acquitted of abuse of power by a vote of 52-48 and obstruction of Congress by a vote of 53-47.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) first announced the House would pursue an inquiry into Trump on September 24, 2019, following allegations that Trump requested the Ukrainian government investigate former Vice President Joe Biden (D) and his son, Hunter Biden, in exchange for aid.

Trump denied the allegations and called the inquiry "the worst witch hunt in political history."

Following weeks of public hearings, the House voted to impeach Trump on December 18, 2019, charging him with abuse of power by a vote of 230-197 and obstruction of Congress by a vote of 229-198. For a breakdown of the U.S. House votes by representative and party, click here.

On January 17, Bondi was named to Trump’s legal defense team in the Senate impeachment trial. Bondi had previously been a member of the president’s communications team responsible for impeachment messaging.

Firing of Gerald Bailey

Governor Rick Scott removed Florida Department of Law Enforcement head Gerald Bailey from office on December 16, 2014. On January 28, Scott said that Bailey was asked to step down voluntarily and that he had complied with the request. Scott's advisors told the press in early February 2015 that Bailey had been instructed to prepare Florida Capitol Police Director Rick Swearingen as his replacement for an undisclosed resignation date. Bailey, who had served in the office for eight years, denied the Scott administration's statements, saying, "When the governor's office gives you until 3 o'clock to resign, you're not working out anything with your successor." A Miami Herald profile of Scott advisor Melissa Sellers on February 7 indicated that Sellers pushed for Bailey's removal because of disagreements over Scott's discussions of law enforcement in his 2014 campaign.

Response from cabinet members

The head of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement reports to the governor and three other constitutional officers: the Florida Attorney General, the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture, and the Florida Chief Financial Officer. The three Republican officers did not favor Scott's actions. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Bailey's removal was handled by Scott's staff without his knowledge and indicated that the state's sunshine laws might have been violated. Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam suggested that Scott worked behind the scenes to add an ally in the department. Putnam and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater raised these concerns at a February 5 meeting of the governor's cabinet. During this meeting, members noted that there were no available records of their aides' meetings leading up to Bailey's removal.

In their own words

• Pam Bondi: "We all knew there were going to be changes made in the upcoming months, but did I know that Jerry Bailey was going to be told he was fired and have his things packed up, his entire life as a career law enforcement officer in a cardboard box, and be told to be out of the office before the end of the day? Absolutely not. Nor do I believe the governor knew it."

• Adam Putnam: "At best, you would say that there was a great miscommunication, but we were misled as to the timing and the process of how that would be handled. . . . Jerry Bailey's a fine man. He served our state very well, and the way he was treated at the end of his distinguished career was shabby."

• Jeff Atwater: "I was not aware of any discontent. There was none between myself and the commissioner. I was not aware of any others. I was not aware of any other friction that existed. To that extent, I have to accept my share of responsibility."

• Rick Scott: "Jerry Bailey was given the opportunity to step down. He did. He was given that opportunity, and then he waited until after Rick Swearingen was confirmed by the entire Cabinet and made his attacks. The attacks against me are absolutely untrue, and they're ridiculous."

Lawsuit

On February 3, 2015, the Florida Society of News Editors, the Associated Press, and attorney Matthew Weidner filed a lawsuit against Scott, Putnam, Atwater, and Bondi alleging violations of the state's open-records laws. The lawsuit said:

"	The governor violated the Sunshine Law by using conduits to engage in polling, discussions, communications and other exchanges with other members of the Cabinet regarding his unilateral decision to force the resignation of the FDLE commissioner and appoint a replacement without any notice to the public, without any opportunity for the public to attend, and without any minutes being taken.	”
—Miami Herald, (2015)

Weidner and the other parties in the lawsuit wanted a state judge to clarify whether open-records laws were broken and to require more transparency around the Scott administration's meetings.

In June 2015, Scott and his cabinet agreed to settle the suit. A mediated deal called for the governor and his staff to change the way they handle public records and appointments. The state also agreed to pay $55,000 in attorney fees.

Opposition to medical marijuana amendment

In January 2014, the Florida State Supreme Court allowed a proposed constitutional amendment that would approve the medicinal use of marijuana to be placed on the ballot for Florida voters to approve or reject. If approved, the amendment would have allowed doctors to prescribe marijuana for patients with certain medical conditions and/or debilitating diseases. The measure was challenged by Bondi as too lenient; she argued that the initiative could "authorize marijuana for anything, any time, to anyone, of any age." A state financial impact study concluded that nearly 450,000 Florida residents could qualify for medical marijuana. The amendment received 57.6 percent of the vote, which fell short of the 60 percent required to pass it.

Lawsuit challenging ACA

See also: State Attorneys General Against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010

Florida was the lead plaintiff in the 26-state lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act. Bondi chose attorney Paul Clement to argue the case before the U.S. Supreme Court, which began hearing oral arguments on March 23, 2012. Throughout the Supreme Court hearings, Bondi contested the law's constitutionality, saying that Florida would be required to pay an extra $1 billion in Medicaid costs beginning in 2018 if the law was not struck down and that the state could not afford it.

On June 28, 2012, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to uphold the Affordable Care Act, with Chief Justice Roberts providing the deciding vote. However, the court ruled to limit the federal government's authority to require states to participate in the coming Medicaid expansion. The court also ruled that the individual mandate failed to stand up to constitutional vetting vis a vis the Commerce Clause and therefore would survive in the form of a tax. Bondi said in her official statement on the ruling, “All of us who are disappointed with the ultimate outcome today cannot lose sight of what we accomplished. We fought for the principle that the Constitution limits Congress’s power to direct the lives of our people, and on that point, we won."

About two years earlier, the morning after the United States House of Representatives passed the Senate reconciliation bill, Bill McCollum, the Republican Attorney General of Florida at the time, announced that he would be joining with South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster and 10 other state attorneys general in challenging the healthcare legislation. Continuing to pursue legal action against the federal mandate was a main theme of Bondi's 2010 State Attorney General campaign.

Prescription drug abuse legislation

In 2011, the state legislature passed a bill with the goal of addressing prescription drug abuse in Florida. Bondi was a supporter of the legislation. In relation to her support of the bill, she was given the Leadership Award by the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators and recognition awards by the Florida Police Chiefs Association and the Florida Board of Medicine Chairman.

Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Pam Bondi endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.

Donald Trump presidential transition team

See also: Donald Trump presidential transition team

Bondi was a member of Donald Trump's presidential transition team. The transition team was a group of around 100 aides, policy experts, government affairs officials, and former government officials who were tasked with vetting, interviewing, and recommending individuals for top cabinet and staff roles in Trump's administration. According to Fox News, she was part of the team's executive committee.

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Official Florida Attorney General website
• Pam Bondi's Facebook profile
• Pam Bondi's Twitter account
• Project Vote Smart - Pam Bondi biography
• Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Bill McCollum (R)	Florida Attorney General 2011–2019	Succeeded by Ashley B. Moody (R)