Janegale Boyd

In 2000, when incumbent State Senator Pat Thomas was unable to run for re-election due to term limits, Boyd ran to succeed him in the 3rd District, which included Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, and Wakulla Counties. She faced fellow State Representative Al Lawson, former Leon County Sheriff Eddie Boone, and Dean J. Fenn in the Democratic primary. Given the sizable African-American electorate in the district, most observers assumed that Lawson would be able to secure a spot in the primary runoff based on his support from black voters, leaving Boone and Boyd to fight for the second spot in the runoff.^[6] The race quickly turned negative, with one political commentator calling it the "ugliest campaign" of the year,^[6] and Boyd calling it "one of the nastiest in state history."^[7] Florida Consumer Advocates, an association of the state's trial lawyers, backed Boone and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars attacking Boyd for her votes in favor of limiting public access to wetlands, selling drivers license information to private companies, and allowing holders of out-of-state concealed-carry permits to bring their weapons into the state.^[6] As expected, Lawson placed first in the primary, receiving 39% of the vote, and advanced to the runoff, where he was joined by Boyd, who edged out Boone for second place, 31–23%.^[8]

In the runoff, the trial lawyers continued to air advertisements against her, including a new advertisement that attacked her 1999 vote in favor of tort reform. The ad featured a Cocoa woman whose husband died when his tire blew out arguing that Boyd "voted to make it more difficult to sue companies like Firestone."^[9] Boyd condemned the advertisement as inaccurate, arguing that the group was blaming her for the Firestone accidents and that she cast her vote based on the best information she had at the time.^[10] Boyd, in turn, attacked Lawson for his vote against legislation that required mandatory sentences for criminals who used guns during crimes. Lawson, along with many other members of the legislature's black caucus, had voted against the legislation out of worries it would be disproportionately used against African-American offenders.^[11] Boyd convened a press conference to denounce the negative advertisements run against her, which Lawson crashed, using the opportunity to accuse her of "running ads that insinuate racism into this campaign," which he called "Willie Horton all over again."^[7]

Ultimately, despite the perceived closeness of the race and despite overwhelmingly outspending Lawson,^[12] Boyd lost the runoff to Lawson in a landslide, winning just 41% of the vote to his 59%. While Boyd won the counties that made up her State House district by wide margins, Lawson racked up larger margins in Gadsden County and Leon County, which ultimately allowed him to easily win.^[13] Lawson's primary victory eventually allowed him to serve as the first black State Senator to represent the area since Reconstruction.^[14]

After leaving the legislature, Boyd became the President and CEO of the Florida Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.^[15] She was elected President of the Florida Nurses Association in 2017.^[16]