Daniel Webster

Daniel Alan Webster (born April 27, 1949) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 11th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he first entered Congress in 2011. He represented Florida's 10th congressional district from 2011 to 2017 (numbered as the 8th district during his first term). Before his congressional service, he served 28 years in the Florida legislature. He was the first Republican Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives since Reconstruction.

After receiving his engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Webster worked in the family air conditioning and heating business he now owns and operates. He has been a resident of Florida since the age of seven and resides in Clermont. First elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1980 and the Florida Senate in 1998, Webster is the longest-serving legislator in Florida history. He became Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives (1996–1998) and Florida Senate majority leader (2006–2008); he left the legislature after reaching the legal term limits. He ran unopposed in all of his elections for the state legislature except for the first three: 1980, 1982, and 1984.

Webster was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2010. He has since run three times for Speaker of the House: in January 2015, he received 12 votes; in October 2015, he received nine votes; in 2017, he received one vote. In the 115th United States Congress, Webster sat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the Natural Resources Committee and the Science, Space and Technology Committee.

Webster was born in Charleston, West Virginia, the son of Mildred Rada (Schoolcraft), a nurse, and Dennis Webster. He was raised in Orlando, Florida, where his family moved when Webster was seven, upon a doctor's recommendation that a change of climate might cure Webster's sinus problems. He is reportedly a distant relative of the antebellum politician and orator Daniel Webster.

He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he was student government chaplain from 1970 to 1971 and a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering. Upon graduation, Webster's Vietnam War student deferment expired, and he became eligible for conscription into the U.S. military, but was not drafted because he failed the physical exam due to lifelong foot problems that prevent him from standing for long periods.

Since college, Webster has worked in the family air conditioning and heating business; he presently owns and operates it. Webster lives in Clermont, Florida.

Webster said he and his wife faced health issues in 2021, which forced him to miss some votes. He said his wife had cancer surgery, and he had a pacemaker installed.

Webster first ran for the Florida House in 1979 at age 30. He had been working on a project with his church to convert a residential house into a place for Sunday school to be conducted. When the Orange County commissioners rejected the church's request for a zoning exception, Webster investigated and found that the county commission had rejected every zoning exemption request brought before them by a church or religious organization. Seeking to rectify what he thought was an injustice, Webster ran for public office after finding no politician who shared his displeasure with local and statewide government.

In the Republican primary, Webster ranked first with 38%, short of the 50% necessary to avoid a runoff election. In the runoff, he defeated Barbara Owens, 54%–46%. In the general election, he defeated Democratic State Representative Henry Swanson 51%–49%, a difference of just 2,070 votes. The race came down to one precinct, Webster's own Pine Hills, which he won.

After redistricting, Webster ran in Florida's newly redrawn 41st House District in 1982. He was reelected, defeating Craig Crawford 58%–42%. In 1984, he was reelected to a third term over fellow State Representative Dick Batchelor, 54%–46%.

After defeating Batchelor in 1984, Webster never had another opponent in the State House of Representatives and was reelected unopposed every two years.

Webster was first elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1980. There, he served as Minority Floor Leader and then Minority Whip. In 1996, when the Republicans gained a majority in the House, Webster became the first Republican speaker of the Florida House in 122 years. He remained Speaker until 1998 when term limits made him ineligible to run for reelection.

Webster ran unopposed for the Florida Senate in Florida's 12th and 9th Senate Districts. He served until reaching the term limit in 2008.

In 2002, Webster unsuccessfully tried for the position of Senate president. From 2006 to 2008, he served as Senate Majority Leader. In 2006, while Majority Leader of the Florida Senate, he received the Florida Family Policy Council Award (2006).

The Florida Department of Transportation Turnpike District Headquarters was named the "Senator Daniel Webster Building" in 2008, and in 2005 State Road 429 was designated the "Daniel Webster Western Beltway". In addition, the largest committee room in the Florida House was named "Speaker Daniel Webster Hall" in his honor in 2008.

In 2007, Webster attached an amendment to a bill for steroid testing of high school athletes that would have created an oversight body for private school athletes separate from the Florida High School Athletic Association. He said the provision was in response to complaints from private schools that had been allegedly singled out for recruiting violations.

In 2008, Webster sponsored SB 2400 in the Florida Senate, requiring that all women planning to undergo an abortion receive an ultrasound, but giving them a choice of whether to see the live images of the fetus. He argued that it would give women more medical information before receiving an abortion, and said if that changed some women's minds, it would make him happy. Opponents said the measure would be an invasion of privacy. The bill did not pass the Senate then, but later became law. He also sponsored a law that would have required minors to notify their legal guardians before receiving an abortion. It has been alleged that Webster does not believe in the right to have an abortion following rape or incest. When questioned by a reporter on the topic, Webster declines to comment. He eventually said that this was an issue being used to distract from the real problem, which was that "Washington is broken."

Webster rejected early suggestions by several leaders in the Republican Party of Florida that he run to represent Florida's 8th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. Still, in April 2010, he changed his mind and entered the race. His name recognition and an endorsement from former governor of Florida Jeb Bush quickly made him the front-runner. He was further aided by a late endorsement and campaign rally from former governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee. On August 24, 2010, Webster defeated six other candidates in the Republican primary, winning nomination with 40% of the vote, to the runner-up's 23%. Webster was named one of 52 "Young Guns" of the National Republican Congressional Committee's Young Guns Program, those the party viewed as serious contenders in their races.

The campaign featured ads by opponent Alan Grayson that criticized Webster's conservative religious views on marriage and abortion as well as attack ads against Grayson financed by Americans for Prosperity and the 60 Plus Association.

In July 2010, Webster signed a pledge sponsored by Americans for Prosperity promising to "oppose legislation relating to climate change that includes a net increase in government revenue."

On November 2, 2010, Webster won the seat, 56% to 38%. Three other candidates were on the ballot: Independent George Metcalfe, Florida Whig Party candidate Steve Gerritzen, and Peg Dunmire of the Florida TEA Party.

Due to redistricting, Webster ran for reelection in the 10th district. Webster defeated Val Demings, the former Chief of Police of the Orlando Police Department, 52% to 48%.

Webster briefly ran for the United States Senate in 2004 when he attempted to collect the 93,000 signatures necessary to place his name on the ballot without paying the filing fee. Webster claimed that he sought to be the first Senate candidate to ever qualify by this method as a symbolic gesture and a way to build an early network of voters. He eventually qualified by paying the fee instead and later dropped out of the race.

When Mel Martinez resigned from the United States Senate, it fell upon Governor Charlie Crist to name a replacement to finish out his Senate term. Webster was floated early on as one of seven potential candidates. In the end, George LeMieux was selected for the position.

Webster is an advocate for home schooling.

Webster supports allowing gun owners to carry concealed firearms across state lines where concealed carry is legal. In 2017, he voted for H.J.Res.40, which successfully used the Congressional Review Act to block implementation of an Obama-era amendment to the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 that was aimed at preventing the mentally impaired from legally purchasing firearms.

In 2015–2016, Webster accepted $1,000 in direct campaign contributions from the NRA Political Victory Fund. From 2004 to 2018, he accepted $37,881 from NRA sources. Webster has an "A" rating from the NRA, generally indicating a voting record that supports gun rights.

Webster has a "0" rating from the Human Rights Campaign regarding his voting record on LGBT-related matters. He co-sponsored the First Amendment Defense Act. He does not support same-sex marriage.

Webster opposes abortion under all circumstances.

Webster is a Southern Baptist and attends First Baptist Church of Central Florida. He is on the University of Central Florida board of trustees. He and his wife, Sandra E. "Sandy" (Jordan) Webster, have six children. As of 2026, they have 24 grandchildren.

The Websters home-schooled their children using the curriculum of the Advanced Training Institute, founded by Bill Gothard. In May 2014, their son John married Alyssa Bates, daughter of Gil and Kelly Bates. The Bates family starred in the reality show Bringing Up Bates and were recurring guests on the show 19 Kids and Counting, which depicted the lives of their friends, Jim Bob Duggar and his wife Michelle.