FLEMING ISLAND — From 2011 to 2013, Jennifer Carroll held the office of Lieutenant Governor of Florida and was the first Black woman to do so. She was also the first Black person elected to statewide office in Florida since the Reconstruction era 150 years ago. 

Carroll has called Clay County home since 1988, when she bought her first house here. She said her eldest son graduated Clay High, and her other two children graduated from Fleming Island High. 

"Clay County is where I have lived the longest in my life. We’ve been here ever since," she told Clay Today. 

She's been involved in the Republican Executive Committee for years and is still politically active. 

After serving as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, Carroll was chosen to be Rick Scott's running mate in the 2010 gubernational election. 

Carroll ran what was described as a "stealth campaign."

Prior, the campaign debated reaching out to Black voters, and the campaign strategist was reluctant to do so, Carroll recounted. "I disagreed with that," Carroll said. "We needed voters to know what our message was. We needed to reach out to all voters."

So, Carroll campaigned in predominantly Black areas. She recounted how she was the only Republican candidate at a forum in Miami, the "heart of the Democrat party" in Florida. Her shoe-leather approach was appreciated, and she said she received a text from Al Sharpton, paraphrased: "You have a lot of kahunas to go there. I have to give you props."

The 2010 gubernatorial election was one of the closest in Florida's history — decided by 1% difference. 

After a nail-biting night and an anticlimactic announcement from the media the next day, the Scott-Carroll ticket learned they won. 

Scott embraced Carroll with a hug, Carroll recounted, and attributed the win to her campaign strategy. Scott, who had the Columbia/HCA billing fraud scandal over his head, was not well liked on the campaign trail, she said.

This is why Carroll felt betrayed when Scott requested her to resign as lieutenant governor in 2013.

Carroll was facing her own financial controversy regarding a charity she was involved with conducting illegal gambling. Ultimately, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement dropped charges and the Florida Commission on Ethics approved a settlement with her. 

Carroll said she stuck with Scott through thick and thin, but Scott did not do the same with her. 

She said she is not endorsing Scott for the Senate. 

There are some similarities between Carroll in 2010 and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is considered to be the presumptive Democrat nominee in the 2024 presidential election. If elected, Harris would also be the first Black woman to hold that office.

However, Carroll says labels should not hold precedence over ability, quality or experience. It was not merely because she was Black that she resonated with Black voters — it's because she went out there and met them. 

Carroll wants to be remembered for getting the ball rolling on the First Coast Expressway, a project which had been "stonewalled" multiple times during discussions. The bottom line, she said, was that there just wasn't enough funding. 

While she was lieutenant governor, Carroll advocated for a public-private partnership and pulled a Florida Department of Transportation secretary in her office. She affirmed the economic importance of Clay County and as a promising location for an outer beltway.

Phase I of the First Coast Expressway was completed in 2019, which opened a toll road between Challenger Drive and Discovery Drive and continuing north to I-10. But developers have had their eyes on the county even before then. 

Growth. That is what Carroll says is Clay County's greatest challenge and opportunity. 

To learn more about Carroll's life story as an immigrant, naval officer, state house representative and lieutenant governor, read her autobiography, "When You Get There" from jennifercarroll.com.