Ted Deutch (R-Fla.)
U.S. Representative (since April 2010)
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After winning a special election in April 2010 in Florida's 19th district, Deutch served out the remainder of former Rep. Robert Wexler's (D-Fla.) term and was reelected in November to serve a full two years in the House. Wexler, an outspoken liberal who represented the district for over a decade, resigned from his seat to become president of the Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation.
During both elections, Deutch campaigned aggressively on the March 2010 health-care overhaul despite local conservative activists' claims that seniors would suffer from Medicare cuts.The district boasts one of the largest retiree populations in the U.S. and Deutch's victories, he believes, are a firm rejection of the narrative that older Americans opposed the health-care reform effort.
In His Own Words
"My constituents who rely on Social Security after a lifetime of hard work are a testament to the wisdom of our nation's most successful domestic program. In an era of disappearing pensions, declining home values and high unemployment, we ought to build on Social Security, not take it apart."
More on: Ted Deutch (R-Fla.)
- Religion: Jewish
- Committees: House Foreign Affairs Committee , House Judiciary Committee
- DC Office: 2241 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515.
- State/District Office: 2500 N. Military Trail, Suite 490, Boca Raton, FL 2
- Web site
Deutch was born in Bethlehem, Pa. Politics is a lifelong ambition, he told the National Journal's Almanac of American Politics (2010 edition), suffering a "bitter loss" for 5th grade class president, but nailing the win in 6th grade and hasn't lost an election since. He was president of his high-school class four times.
He holds a B.A. and a J.D. from the University of Michigan, where he was awarded the prestigious Truman Scholarship.
Despite being a freshman member of the minority party in the Florida Senate, Deutch successfully authored several significant legislative initiatives. He spearheaded the nation's first Iran divestment law, which enabled Florida to divest over $1 billion in state pension funds from the rogue nation. Deutch also passed a surcharge on cigarette sales, generating nearly a billion dollars for health-care programs, including cancer research.
Within his first few months in the U.S. House, Deutch introduced legislation to extend Social Security's solvency, which was featured in the New York Times.
In Deutch's April 2010 special election race to replace Rep. Wexler, he was backed by Wexler, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), and several other Florida Democratic lawmakers.
Deutch was heavily involved in then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign in Florida. When Barack Obama won the 2008 Democratic nomination for president, Deutch worked to mobilize Jewish voters in south Florida in support of his candidacy.
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