Alfred James Lawson Jr., is an American politician who is the U.S. Representative for Florida's 5th congressional district, serving since 2017. The district stretches across most of the border with Georgia, including most of the majority-black areas between Tallahassee and Jacksonville. A Democrat, Lawson served in the Florida Legislature for 28 years. From 1982 to 2000, he was a member of the Florida House of Representatives. From 2000 to 2010, Lawson was a member of the Florida Senate, where he was elected to serve as the Democratic Leader and eventually rose to the rank of "Dean of the Senate" prior to his election to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Lawson ran for the Democratic nomination in in 2010, challenging seven-term incumbent Allen Boyd. Lawson narrowly lost to Boyd in the Democratic primary, and Boyd lost to Republican newcomer Steve Southerland in the general election by more than 12 percentage points.
2012
Lawson ran again for the seat in 2012, and won the Democratic nomination against Blue Dog-endorsed state Rep. Leonard Bembry. He lost to incumbent Republican nominee Steve Southerland in the general election by less than 6 points.
2016
A lawsuit challenging the Florida congressional district map radically changed the 5th district. For the past quarter century, the district and its predecessors had covered most of the majority-black precincts from Jacksonville to Orlando. The new map, however, changed the district to an east-west configuration stretching across all or part of eight counties from Tallahassee to downtown Jacksonville. The redrawn district included Lawson's home in Tallahassee, and Lawson announced he would run for the 5th on December 15, 2015, setting up a battle against Corrine Brown, the only congresswoman the district had known since its creation in 1993. On paper, the district's demographics appeared to be against Lawson. While the district now included most of Tallahassee, the capital and its suburbs only accounted for 32 percent of the district's population, while the Jacksonville area accounted for 61 percent. However, his bid received a significant boost in July 2016, when Brown was indicted on federal corruption charges. He defeated Brown in the Democratic primary—the real contest in this heavily Democratic district—on August 30, 2016. He then defeated Republican Glo Smith in the general election on November 8 with 64% of the vote.
Tenure
Rep. Lawson was sworn in on January 3, 2017. On December 18 2019, Lawson voted to impeach President Donald J. Trump.
Committee assignments
Committee on Agriculture
*Subcommittee on Nutrition
*Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management
Following the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, Lawson expressed frustration with the lack of action on gun regulation and placed blame on lobbying organizations, saying "the stranglehold of the gun lobby has gone on long enough". Lawson supports restriction on assault weapons. In 2017, Lawson voted no on the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, which would require all states to recognize concealed carry permits issued in other states. Additionally, those with concealed carry permits would be permitted to carry concealed weapons in school zones. Lawson also voted no on the , which would have allowed veterans who are considered "mentally incompetent" to purchase ammunition and firearms unless declared a danger by a judge.
Yemeni civil war
Al Lawson was one of five house Democrats who voted for the US to continue selling arms to Saudi Arabia and to support the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.
