PERSON: Scott Franklin

Florida’s 18th Congressional District

Representative

Clifford Scott Franklin (born August 23, 1964) is an American politician and businessman who has served in the United States House of Representatives since 2021. He represented Florida’s 15th congressional district from 2021 to 2023, and has represented Florida’s 18th district since 2023. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Born in Thomaston, Georgia, Franklin was raised in Lakeland, Florida. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1986 and served in the United States Navy as a Naval Aviator flying the S-3 Viking off of multiple aircraft carriers and routinely deploying overseas. Franklin later earned a Master of Business Administration from Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University and is a graduate of the Armed Forces Staff College.

Franklin spent 26 years in the Navy, 14 on active duty and 12 in the Naval Reserve, including being mobilized/recalled to active duty with U.S. Central Command after the September 11 attacks. He retired with the rank of Commander.

In 2000, Franklin joined Lanier Upshaw, an insurance agency, and became its chief executive officer. In 2017, he was elected as a city commissioner for the Southeast district of Lakeland, Florida, succeeding longtime incumbent Edie Yates. Because of his run for Congress, Franklin was required to resign his seat on the city commission; he chose to make his resignation effective on January 3, 2021, the day he was sworn into Congress. Franklin was succeeded on the city commission by Don Selvage, a former commissioner who held the seat as an interim appointee from January 4 until the April 6 special election to fill the vacancy.

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