1. Matt Caldwell was the Republican nominee for Florida Commissioner of Agriculture in 2018, but lost the general election to Democrat Nikki Fried.
13 Facts About Matt Caldwell
1. 2.
Matt Caldwell is a 7th generation Florida native whose family came to Micanopy in 1826.
3.
Matt Caldwell attended Florida Gulf Coast University, from which he received a degree in history in 2004.
4.
Matt Caldwell later received a Master of Science in Forestry Resources and Conservation with a concentration in Geomatics from the University of Florida.
5.
In 2008, when Democratic State Senator Dave Aronberg ran for re-election in the 27th District, which sprawled from West Palm Beach to Cape Coral and included parts of Charlotte County, Glades County, Lee County, and Palm Beach County, Matt Caldwell ran against him.
6.
Matt Caldwell won the uncontested Republican primary and advanced to the general election.
7.
When incumbent State Representative Nick Thompson opted to run for a position as a Circuit Judge on the 20th Judicial Circuit of Florida in 2010 rather than seek re-election, Matt Caldwell ran to succeed him in the 73rd District, based in northern Lee County, including Fort Myers and stretching from Suncoast Estates to Gateway.
8.
Matt Caldwell faced Jason Moon, John Schultz, and Deanna Casalino in the Republican primary.
9.
When state legislative districts were redrawn in 2012, Matt Caldwell was moved into the 79th District, which retained most of the territory that he had previously represented in the 73rd District.
10.
Matt Caldwell was unopposed in the general election and won his second term in the legislature uncontested.
11.
Matt Caldwell did not have an opponent in the general election .
12.
On election night, Matt Caldwell appeared to be leading by a margin of more than 40,000 votes, but after the votes were fully counted, the margin was close enough that a recount was performed, and after that recount, he was narrowly defeated by 6,753 votes out of more than eight million cast.
13.
In 2020 Matt Caldwell ran for Lee County Property Appraiser after Ken Wilkinson retired from his 40 year long tenure.