Rep. Franklin Tapped as House Democratic Leader in 2028

By Ana Goñi-Lessan, The News Service of Florida

TALLAHASSEE — Rep. Gallop Franklin of Tallahassee was elected as House Democratic Leader for the 2028-2030 legislative term Wednesday evening.

Democrats have been in the minority in the House since the 1990s and for the current term have been in superminority status. Still, Franklin has big plans for the Democratic caucus.

“I’m looking forward to working with all my Democratic colleagues, supporting them, working for them, making sure they have the resources and the support to be successful,” he told the News Service of Florida.

Franklin will follow Rep. Christine Hunschofsky, D- Parkland, who will lead the House Democrats for the 2026-2028 term. Rep. Fentrice Driskell of Tampa is the current House Democratic Leader.

The last time a Tallahassee legislator held a leadership position was when Democratic Sen. Al Lawson was the minority leader in the Senate from 2008-2010.

In the Florida House, there are 34 seats filled by Democrats, one of the smallest Democratic caucuses in the history of the Florida Legislature. But Franklin believes issues like affordability, health care and education will appeal to Floridians in the midterms and beyond.

Democrats will focus on improving the “quality of life” of Floridians, he said.

“These kinds of issues are never just ‘overnight’ kinds of issues, and I really think it takes forward and creative ideas,” Franklin said.

While the House has passed a sweeping property tax plan that will cut most homestead property taxes, Franklin says it’s not enough to help Florida’s working class families.

The bill (HJR 203) would put a measure on the 2026 general election ballot that would eliminate all non-school taxes for properties with a homestead exemption. The Senate, though, doesn’t have a similar proposal and Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday the issue likely won’t be addressed during the regular legislative session.

“It’s ultimately going to be a tax shift…everything is going to cost more because of it,” he said.

With the end of COVID-era funding and spending, state economists have predicted shortfalls of $1.5 billion and $6.6 billion in the 2027-28 and 2028-29 fiscal years, respectively.

“We have to be very strategic. How do we grow our economy?” Franklin said.

Franklin wants to work on a sales tax rebate, where Florida residents would receive money back at the end of the year, and an expansion of tax breaks for small businesses, increasing the corporate tax exemption from $50,000 to $75,000 of net income.

“We are in the minority in this chamber, and so we do have to find places where there’s mutual agreement with the party that’s in control right now to make sure that we can advance critical issues for Floridians,” Franklin said.

Health care and education are also top priorities. Franklin said insurance premiums are ballooning, and teachers in Tallahassee are moving to jobs in Georgia for better salaries.

He wants to push for over $2 billion more in education funding for increasing teacher pay.

“The Democratic Party has always said that we have a spectrum of ideologies,” he said. “(I will) ensure that those communities know without a doubt we’re able to fight for what they care about.”

Franklin also pledged to work to bring needed investments to his district. He’s still working with Sen. Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, on getting funding to switch Midway residents from septic to sewer. Every year he’s been in office, he’s advocated for Gadsden County to build a new K-8 school and a new Boys and Girls Club.