Preceded by Jeff Atwater Political party Republican Succeeded by Joseph Abruzzo Name Ellyn Bogdanoff | Preceded by Connie Mack IV Spouse Steven Bogdanoff Succeeded by George Moraitis Party Republican Party | |
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Born October 17, 1959 (age 64)
North Miami, Florida ( 1959-10-17 ) Alma mater University of Florida (B.A.) Shepard Broad Law Center (J.D.) Education University of Florida, Shepard Broad Law Center, Nova Southeastern University | ||
Ellyn Setnor Bogdanoff (born October 17, 1959) was a Republican member of the Florida Senate from the 25th District, which ran from West Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from 2010 to 2012.
In 1996, Ellyn Bogdanoff began her political career by running for the Broward County School Board as the Republican nominee, though she lost to Democratic incumbent Miriam Oliphant. She ran for the Florida Senate in a special election in March 1998 to replace Ken Jenne, who had resigned his seat in the Senate when Governor Lawton Chiles appointed him as Broward County Sheriff, but lost to Steven Geller, a State Representative and the Democratic nominee.
Ellyn Bogdanoff ran for the Florida House of Representatives in January 2004 following the resignation of incumbent Representative Connie Mack IV, who had retired to focus on his ultimately successful campaign for Congress. She emerged victorious from a crowded field of seven candidates, and was re-elected unopposed later that year. In 2006, Ellyn Bogdanoff fended off a spirited challenge from Democratic opponent Christian Chiari, in which she won with just 55% of the vote; two years later, she defeated Chiari again in a rematch by a larger margin.
When incumbent State Senator Jeff Atwater was term-limited in his position and ran for Chief Financial Officer of Florida in 2010, an open seat arose, and Ellyn Bogdanoff defeated fellow State Representative Carl J. Domino to win the Republican nomination. In the general election, she overwhelmingly defeated the Democratic nominee, State Representative Kelly Skidmore, and independent candidate Miranda Rosenberg.
In 2012, Florida Senate districts were reconfigured, and Ellyn Bogdanoff was drawn into a district with Democratic State Senator Maria Sachs, and a competitive election ensued. The Palm Beach Post criticized Ellyn Bogdanoff for "reckless" votes to allow the privatization of state prisons and to allow a takeover of public schools by charter school companies while the Miami Herald, in endorsing Sachs, called it "unfortunate" that Ellyn Bogdanoff "cannot simply run on her own record." On the other hand, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel endorsed her, praising her as "smart, a bit of a wonk, hard-working and tenacious when dealing with legislative issues." In a race that emerged as the top target of both the Democrats and the Republicans, costing up to $1.5 million, Ellyn Bogdanoff, who received 47% of the vote, was narrowly defeated by Sachs, who received 53%.