George S. LeMieux

George Stephen LeMieux (born May 21, 1969) is an American attorney and former politician who served as a United States Senator from Florida from 2009 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was appointed to the Senate by Governor Charlie Crist to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Senator Mel Martínez, and he served one term in office. During his tenure in Congress, LeMieux participated in the legislative process at a time of significant economic and political change in the United States, representing the interests of Florida constituents and developing a record noted for pro-business and tax reform positions.

LeMieux was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the son of Karen Ann (née Huckestein) and George Harvey LeMieux, a building contractor whose wife served as secretary to the company. He grew up in nearby Coral Springs, Florida, and attended local public schools. He graduated from Coral Springs High School in 1987. As a young man, he developed an early interest in politics and public service, interests that would later shape both his legal career and his work in Republican Party politics.

After high school, LeMieux enrolled at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where he majored in political science. At Emory he was active in campus life, serving as Chapter President of the Beta Epsilon chapter of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He graduated magna cum laude in 1991, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and was selected as Senior Orator of his graduating class. He then attended Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., earning his Juris Doctor, cum laude, in 1994. During his time in Washington he gained early exposure to federal policymaking by interning for Congressman E. Clay Shaw Jr. and U.S. Senator Connie Mack III. He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1994 and later became board certified in business litigation in 2004. His court admissions include the United States Supreme Court; the United States District Courts for the Southern, Middle, and Northern Districts of Florida; and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Eleventh and Federal Circuits.

Upon completing law school in 1994, LeMieux joined the Florida-based law firm of Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart P.A. in its Fort Lauderdale office. An AV-rated attorney, he focused his practice on resolving business and governmental disputes and advising chief executive officers and other C‑suite executives on issues at the intersection of business, law, and government from local, state, and national perspectives. He continued his practice at Gunster for approximately eight years, developing a reputation in complex business litigation and public policy matters. In February 2008, after a period in public service, he returned to Gunster, working out of both the Fort Lauderdale and the firm’s newer Tallahassee office. Within three months of rejoining the firm, he was named its chairman, a position he has continued to hold, overseeing strategic direction and client development.

Parallel to his legal career, LeMieux became deeply involved in Republican politics in Florida. In 1998, he ran as the Republican nominee for the Florida House of Representatives in District 92, challenging four-term Democratic incumbent Tracy Stafford in a district drawn to favor a Democrat. During the campaign he reportedly visited more than 10,000 homes and advocated for better health insurance, leaner bureaucracy, and smaller class sizes, recalling his own experience in Broward County classrooms with as many as 40 students. He also supported a $100 cap on contributions from out-of-state companies to Florida candidates, arguing that such a limit would give working people a greater voice in the political process. Although he lost the race, he went on to become chairman of the Broward County Republican Party and worked to expand the role of the Republican Party in heavily Democratic Broward County. He later served as chairman of Governor Jeb Bush’s re-election campaign and as a member of the City of Fort Lauderdale Beach Redevelopment Advisory Board. In recognition of his growing influence, he was named one of the “50 Most Powerful People in Broward County” by Gold Coast Magazine and one of “20 People on the Fast Track” by Fast Track Magazine in 2002.

LeMieux’s close working relationship with Charlie Crist began in the 1990s, when Crist was a state senator from St. Petersburg and LeMieux was active in Republican organizing in Broward County. In 2002, Crist, then newly elected Attorney General of Florida, asked LeMieux to serve as his chief of staff in the Attorney General’s Office. LeMieux left Gunster to assume the position when Crist took office on January 7, 2003. As Deputy Attorney General and Chief of Staff, he supervised more than 400 lawyers and a total staff of approximately 1,300, overseeing major litigation and policy initiatives for the state. He later became chief of staff for Crist’s 2006 gubernatorial campaign, a race in which Crist defeated Tom Gallagher by 32 points in the Republican primary and then prevailed over Democrat Jim Davis in the general election. LeMieux was widely credited as the “maestro” of Crist’s campaign, shaping its message and strategy, including decisions such as insisting on lecterns rather than a conference table for a key televised debate and advising that Crist not accompany President George W. Bush on a visit to Florida on the eve of the election. He also counseled Crist on the selection of Jeff Kottkamp as his running mate. After Crist’s inauguration as Governor on January 2, 2007, LeMieux served as chief of staff in the Executive Office of the Governor, where he supervised all aspects of the office, including the Governor’s legislative agenda, policy initiatives, and the management of executive agencies. In that capacity he led compact negotiations with the Seminole Tribe of Florida and, shortly before leaving public office, served as Crist’s liaison to the Florida Council of 100, a nonpartisan group of business leaders, working to identify ways state government could support economic growth.

In February 2008, after leaving the Governor’s Office, LeMieux launched “The LeMieux Report,” an electronic newsletter and video series distributed via email and YouTube that offered analysis and commentary on legal, business, and political issues affecting Florida’s economy and business community. Drawing on his experience briefing the Governor daily, he described the report as a way to help busy executives navigate complex public-policy developments by distilling the most important information into an accessible format. The report was circulated weekly to a list of corporate and civic leaders. His final video, posted on August 25, 2009, discussed the then-unknown appointee whom Governor Crist would select to succeed Senator Mel Martínez.

On August 29, 2009, Governor Crist announced that he would appoint LeMieux to the United States Senate seat vacated by Mel Martínez, who had resigned earlier that month. LeMieux took office on September 10, 2009, serving until January 3, 2011. His service in Congress coincided with the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and the early years of the Obama administration, a period marked by intense debate over financial regulation, federal spending, and economic recovery. As a Republican Senator from Florida, he participated in the democratic process by voting on major legislation, engaging in committee work, and representing the interests of his state’s citizens. He proposed “the 2007 Solution,” a fiscal plan aimed at eliminating the federal budget deficit by 2013 and reducing the national public debt by nearly half by 2020, reflecting his emphasis on fiscal responsibility. On May 13, 2010, the Senate adopted an amendment to the pending financial regulatory reform bill that he co-authored with Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington. The amendment sought to reduce reliance on credit rating agencies by requiring financial institutions to perform their own due diligence on assets they held, a reform praised in an editorial in The Wall Street Journal for its potential to “destroy the government-created ratings cartel.” During his Senate tenure, LeMieux was also involved in the high-profile temporary blockage of President Barack Obama’s nominee for United States Ambassador to Brazil, Thomas A. Shannon Jr., who was ultimately confirmed. His voting record and advocacy earned him a 93 percent rating from the National Taxpayers Union and the “Spirit of Enterprise” award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, underscoring his pro-business and tax-reform orientation.

After leaving the Senate in January 2011, LeMieux returned to private life while remaining active in public affairs. On April 15, 2011, he announced his candidacy for the United States Senate seat held by Democratic Senator Bill Nelson, running on a platform that emphasized fiscal discipline and limited government. He campaigned in the Republican primary but withdrew from the race on June 20, 2012, subsequently endorsing Representative Connie Mack IV for the nomination. In the meantime, he continued his leadership at Gunster and remained engaged in legal practice and public policy discussions. On December 6, 2010, he had designated Palm Beach Atlantic University’s Warren Library as the repository for his senatorial papers and memorabilia, ensuring public access to records of his congressional service.

LeMieux has also been active in education and civic life. On December 7, 2012, he joined Palm Beach Atlantic University President William M. B. Fleming Jr. in founding the LeMieux Center for Public Policy at the university. The center was established to provide students with opportunities to engage with state and national officials, journalists, authors, academics, and other thought leaders on issues important to Florida, the United States, and the broader world. The LeMieux Center sponsors an annual interactive lecture series on public policy and servant leadership and offers an independent study program for selected upperclassmen, beginning in the fall semester of 2013. Beyond his formal roles in government and law, LeMieux has served as a director for Goodwill of Broward County and Riverwalk, Inc., and as a trustee of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce. He received a “Pollie” award from the American Association of Political Consultants as the nation’s “MVP” in a Republican campaign for 2006, reflecting his prominence as a political strategist.

In his personal life, LeMieux is married and is the father of four children: three sons, George, Taylor, and Chase, and a daughter, Madeleine. Balancing his legal practice, political involvement, and civic commitments, he has remained a visible figure in Florida’s public life, contributing to debates on law, business, and governance while maintaining close ties to the communities in which he was raised and has worked.