DeeDee Ritchie (born September 22, 1953) is an American politician from Pensacola, Florida.[1]

DeeDee Ritchie
Ritchie in 1998
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 3rd district
In office
1998–2000
Preceded byBuzz Ritchie
Succeeded byHolly Benson
Personal details
Born (1953-09-22) September 22, 1953 (age 71)
Leesville, Louisiana, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseBuzz Ritchie
ResidencePensacola, Florida
Alma materAuburn University
University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Personal life

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Ritchie was born on September 22, 1953, in Leesville, Louisiana. In 1975 she graduated from Auburn University, and in 1979 she graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a masters in education. During her time in college she was a member of the Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority. She has a career in education and won Florida Teacher of the year award in 1990, and was inducted into the Florida Teaching hall of fame in 1998.[2][1] DeeDee was married to congressman Buzz Ritchie for 5 years, but they were separated and on the way to divorce when DeeDee ran for office.[3]

Political career

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Ritchie's political career started in 1998 when she ran to fill the seat left by her estranged husband Buzz Ritchie retiring.[3] She ran in the primary with an endorsement from her ex-husband, and would beat John Wyche.[4] In the general election she would beat Paul Young by almost 10%.[5]

In 2000 she would run for the 1st district of the Florida Senate. During the election she was called out by her opponent Durell Peaden for running negative and misleading advertising.[6] In the general election Ritchie ended up losing to Peaden by over 15%.[7]

Electoral history

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General election for Florida Senate District 1, 2000
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Durell Peaden 83,982 58.0%
Democratic DeeDee Ritche 60,734 42.0%

[7]

General Election for Florida House of Representatives District 3, 1998
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic DeeDee Ritche 13,590 54.1%
Republican Paul Young 11,527 45.9%

[5]

Democratic Primary for Florida House of Representatives District 3, 1998
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic DeeDee Ritche 3,854 52.9%
Democratic John Wyche 2,351 47.1%

[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b "DeeDee Ritchie - 1998 - 2000 ( Speaker Thrasher )". www.myfloridahouse.gov. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  2. ^ "The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Ritchie". politicalgraveyard.com. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  3. ^ a b Lewis, Sonja (Feb 27, 1998). "DeeDee Ritchie to seek house". Newspapers.com. Pensacola News Journal. p. 29. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  4. ^ a b "Florida Department of State - Election Results". results.elections.myflorida.com. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  5. ^ a b "Florida Department of State - Election Results". results.elections.myflorida.com. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  6. ^ "Enough is Enough Durell Peaden ad". Pensacola News Journal. 2000-11-03. p. 28. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  7. ^ a b "Florida Department of State - Election Results". results.elections.myflorida.com. Retrieved 2024-04-20.