Evan Jenne

Jenne was born in Hollywood to Kenneth Jenne II and Caroline Jenne, who later divorced. His father served as a Broward County Commissioner, State Senator, and as the Sheriff of Broward County.[3]

Evan Jenne attended the Florida State University, where he graduated with a degree in political science in 1999, and then a Master of Public Administration in 2002.

In 2006, following the inability of State Representative Tim M. Ryan to seek re-election due to term limits, Jenne ran to succeed him in the 100th District, which stretched from Dania Beach to Pembroke Pines in southern Broward County. He won both the Democratic primary and the general election entirely unopposed. During his first term in the legislature, he authored legislation that "would compensate a 6-year-old boy born with brain damage because of negligence by South Broward Hospital District employees" and that would allow victims of sexual assault to be granted leave by their employers.[4]

In 2008, Jenne was opposed in the primary by Robert Kellner and Freda Sherman Stevens, whom he was able to handily defeat, receiving 52% of the vote to Kellner's 30% and Stevens's 18%, and in the general election, he was re-elected unopposed. He faced Edward Bender, an independent candidate, when he ran for re-election in 2010, and earned the endorsement of the Sun-Sentinel, which praised Jenne for his "pro-consumer record" and for "crossing the aisle and working with House Republicans to get things accomplished."[5] Ultimately, Bender did not pose a significant risk to Jenne, and he was overwhelmingly re-elected, receiving 66% of the vote to Bender's 34%.

When the state's legislative districts were redrawn in 2012, Jenne was located in the same district as fellow State Representative Elaine Schwartz. Seeking to avoid a divisive election with Schwartz, he declined to seek re-election, initially announcing that he would run for the Broward County Commission in the 7th District. He later dropped out of that race, saying, "I took a harder look at it and the content [on the County Commission] didn't interest me as much as the content in Tallahassee. It's a completely different situation."[6]

Instead, because Schwartz was term-limited in 2014, Jenne ran to succeed her in the 99th District,[7] which stretches from Dania Beach to Southwest Ranches in southern Broward County. Ultimately, Jenne was successful in his bid to return to the legislature, winning in the 99th District without opposition. He was re-elected in 2016 and 2018 without opposition.

For the 2020–22 Legislature, Jenne and fellow Broward Democrat Bobby DuBose were elected by the House Democratic caucus to serve as co-minority leaders.[8][9]

• Florida House of Representatives - Evan Jenne