Chris Sprowls, the young Republican who assumed office in late 2014 replacing Carl Zimmerman, has likely powered his way into a future spot as the top man in Florida’s House.
Sprowls landed himself at number 14 on this year’s list of Top 25 most powerful politicians, after not making the list at all last year.
Already Sprowls has accomplished a lot. As a teen, he kicked cancer’s butt. As a candidate, he stuck it to Zimmerman in the 2014 election that gave Republicans a supermajority in the House.
Now Sprowls has made strides toward earning the speakership in 2021, bypassing former favorite Eric Eisnaugle for the job. Most recently, fellow freshman Paul Renner, a Palm Coast Republican, removed his support from Eisnaugle and likely sewed up the top House job for Sprowls.
That followed a long line of other shifts in support. Sprowls got Rep. Shawn Harrison to support him for the speakership. And Reps. Brad Drake and Cyndi Stevenson both pulled their support from Eisnaugle.
Sprowls is a USF and Stetson University College of Law graduate. He successfully prosecuted William Hurst in 2013 for murdering his wife 30 years prior. After that conviction, Sprowls went on to work in the State Attorney’s office as a special prosecutor in the Gang Unit and as the Director of the Veterans Treatment Court.
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For a complete explanation of how this list was created and who comprised the panel that assembled it, please read here.
