Representative Paul Renner Contact information

Paul Marvin Renner was born on March 21, 1967, in Atlanta, Georgia. He is an American lawyer and politician who currently serves as the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, starting in November 2022. He has been in office as a Representative since 2015, where he currently represents the 19th District, which includes Flagler County and St. Johns County.

Renner was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and grew up in Florida. He attended Davidson College, where he graduated with his bachelor’s degree in history in 1989. After graduation, he joined the United States Navy, serving as a Surface Warfare Officer, and provided combat operations support in the Gulf War. Following his active duty military service, he attended the Fredric G. Levin College of Law at the University of Florida, receiving his Juris Doctor in 1994.

Renner then served as an assistant state attorney, where he supervised misdemeanor attorneys and prosecuted felony offenses in the Felony Trial Unit. He then branched out into commercial and corporate law as a partner at Milam Howard Nicandri Dees & Gillam. As a reservist, Renner was mobilized to active duty and served in support of combat operations in Afghanistan in 2011.

In 2014, when incumbent State Representative Daniel Davis declined to seek a third term in the legislature, Renner ran to succeed him in the 15th District, which included parts of downtown Jacksonville in western Duval County. He faced banker Jay Fant in the Republican primary, and a brutal election soon began. Though the two candidates aligned closely on ideological issues, Renner emphasized his leadership credentials through his military service and his career as a prosecutor. Renner was endorsed by Davis, whom he aimed to replace; State Senator John E. Thrasher, Duval County Sheriff John Rutherford, and United States Congressman Ron DeSantis, as well as local business organizations.

During the campaign, Renner was attacked by third-party groups over his alleged support for gambling, which he objected to, noting that he had expressed his opposition to the expansion of gambling and had signed a pledge with No Casinos to indicate his opposition. He emphasized his support for reducing crime, declaring, “I think the first priority of government has got to be public safety. We’ve got to fight crime in our community, and I’m committed to doing that as well.” Ultimately, the election proved to be close, as Fant finished just three votes ahead of Renner.

Renner, a 55-year-old attorney and Navy veteran of the Persian Gulf War and Afghanistan, was first elected to the House in a 2015 special election, after moving to Palm Coast just months after a hard-fought loss by two votes for a Jacksonville seat.