14 Facts About Bev Kilmer

Beverly "Bev" J Kilmer is a Republican politician who served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1998 to 2004, representing the 7th District.

Bev Kilmer unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2004 against Congressman Allen Boyd, and again for the Florida House in 2016.

Bev Kilmer later earned her GED and attended the Matrix Institute of Business, and moved to Florida in 1970.

Bev Kilmer became a hairdresser and opened up a chain of hair salons in Tallahassee, ultimately deciding to run for office after testifying against a proposed regulation that she thought would hurt hair stylists.

In 1998, Bev Kilmer announced that she would run against incumbent Democratic State Representative Jamey Westbrook in the 7th District, which stretched from Miramar Beach to Marianna and Tallahassee.

Bev Kilmer joined a Republican-dominated legislature and Republican Governor Jeb Bush, which was the first time that the state had been governed exclusively by Republicans since Reconstruction.

When Bev Kilmer ran for re-election in 2000, she was challenged by Westbrook, who was acquitted of the charges against him just weeks after he lost re-election in 1998.

Bev Kilmer sought a third and final term in the House in 2002, when she was opposed by businessman Cliff Thomas, the Democratic nominee.

Bev Kilmer joined the race with significant support from the Republican establishment, with First Lady Laura Bush, House Speaker Dennis Hastert and NRCC Chair Tom Reynolds coming to the district to host fundraisers on Kilmer's behalf.

Bev Kilmer was able to keep relative financial parity with Boyd, raising $1 million to Boyd's $1.6 million, and had influential figures in the Republican Party come to the district to campaign for her.

Meanwhile, Bev Kilmer attracted criticism for copying her answers to an AARP questionnaire from materials distributed by the NRCC, which prompted an internal investigation on Bev Kilmer's campaign as to how the copying had occurred.

In 2016, Bev Kilmer announced that she would challenge State Representative Brad Drake, who eventually succeeded Coley in Bev Kilmer's old seat, in the Republican primary.

An early poll showed Drake with a wide lead over Bev Kilmer, who was largely unknown by the district's Republican voters.

Bev Kilmer had, ostensibly, moved to Texas, where she had registered to vote and cast ballots in several elections, which would have made her ineligible to run for the legislature until the following year.