On Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera was named as part of the leadership team of the Republican Lieutenant Governors Association (RLGA).
Lopez-Cantera, who was named to his current post by Gov. Rick Scott in 2014, will take over as co-chair of the RLGA focusing on policy. Nevada Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchinson will take over as chairman with North Carolina Lt. Governor Dan Forest as vice-chairman of the group. Indiana Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch will oversee finances.
“Since its founding, the RLGA has done an incredible job of helping the Republican Party expand its dominance in the states,” Hutchinson said on Tuesday. “I know this firsthand after the investment they made into my race helping me get elected in 2014. I am honored to be elected Chairman of such an innovative organization, and I look forward to working alongside Lt. Governors Forest, Lopez-Cantera and Crouch as we continue to grow our caucus, win elections and advance conservatism in the states. Today, Republicans hold a comfortable majority of lieutenant governor offices nationwide, with 31 out of 45 seats under GOP control, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to build on past successes in 2017.”
“Today, with a united government in Washington, D.C. and Republicans at all-time highs in the states, we are faced with an incredible opportunity to advance conservative values from coast to coast at every level of government,” Lopez-Cantera said. “As the second-in-command in the states, lieutenant governors will play a critical role in determining and defining policy discussions nationwide, and I am humbled to have been chosen by my peers to serve as the RLGA’s Co-Chair for Policy in such a critical and exciting year.”
The group defines itself as “the only national organization committed to raising money and assisting Republicans in their campaigns for lieutenant governor." Currently, the GOP controls 31 of the 45 lieutenant governor positions across the nation.
Lopez-Cantera, who turns 43 later this month, made his political debut in 2002 when he unsuccessful ran for the Florida House. Two years later, he won a House seat, rising to become GOP whip and then House majority leader before facing term limits in 2012. Lopez-Cantera ran for and was elected Miami Dade County property appraiser before being named to his current post by Scott at the start of 2014. In 2015, Lopez-Cantera launched a bid for the Republican nomination in the U.S. Senate race but he dropped out of the race when U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., announced he would run for a second term.
