Dane Eagle

Eagle won election to the Florida House of Representatives in 2012, at age 29.[1] Following the reconfiguration of Florida House districts, Eagle opted to run in the newly created 77th District, a southwestern Florida district based in Cape Coral. In the 2012 Republican primary, Eagle defeated former Cape Coral City Councilman Chris Berardi,[7][8] winning 10,026 votes (70.6%) to Berardi's 4,183 votes (29.4%).[9]

In the 2012 general election, Eagle defeated Democratic nominee Arvella M. Clare to win his first term in the legislature; Eagle received 38,936 votes (62.4%) to Clare's 23,455 votes (37.6%).[10]

In April 2014, Eagle was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Tallahassee, Florida after speeding, reckless driving and running a red light. According to police, Eagle had bloodshot eyes, was staggering and smelling of alcohol. Eagle claimed that the smell of alcohol coming from his vehicle was the result of having people who were drunk in his car earlier in the night.[11] He refused to take a roadside sobriety test or a breath alcohol test. In May 2014, Eagle issued an apology, saying that "I do not dispute that I am guilty of driving recklessly and using poor judgment" but denied being drunk at the time of his arrest.[11]

Days after his arrest, Eagle resigned from his position as director of development for the Lee County Building Industry Association, a position he had taken up a year earlier.[11][12] Eagle said the timing was coincidental.[11]

In June 2014, the charge against Eagle was dropped to reckless driving;[13] he took a plea deal in which he pleaded no contest and agreed to six months' probation, 100 hours' community service, and alcohol testing.[14]

Eagle's conduct was criticized by The News-Press, which said that Eagle "has disappointed his constituency and embarrassed himself" and questioning Eagle's claim to not have been drinking.[15] Nevertheless, the News-Press went on to endorse Eagle for reelection later that year, stating, "We know he cares about his job. We know he is committed to serving the people here. He was apologetic for his mistake and says he has learned from it. Only time and his actions will make that true."[16]

In 2014, Eagle won the four-way Republican primary with 64% of the vote. In the general election, he faced only a write-in candidate. In 2016, Eagle ran unopposed through both the Republican primary and the general election, winning his third term in the State House of Representatives.[17]

In 2018, he won reelection, defeating Democratic candidate Alanis Garcia with 63% of the vote.[18]

Eagle was the state House majority whip from 2016 to 2018, and majority leader from 2018 to 2020,[2][4] leading the Republican caucus in the Republican-dominated chamber alongside Speaker José R. Oliva.[1] Eagle was also vice-chair of the House Appropriations Committee from 2018 to 2020,[2] a powerful post.[4]

During his time in the state House, Eagle supported "campus carry" legislation (to allow the concealed carrying of guns on college campuses) and "open carry" legislation (to legalize the open carrying of guns in public spaces).[19] He also sponsored legislation that would ban "state, county, or city law enforcement officers from enforcing existing or future federal regulations on personal firearms and ammunition."[20]

Eagle is a supporter of Donald Trump; he was one of the opening speakers at a Trump rally at Germain Arena near Fort Myers in September 2016, ahead of the November 2016 presidential election.[21][22] In a two-minute video announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination for a congressional seat in 2019, Eagle invoked Trump or "the president" eight times.[23]