Racing in Florida
Loranne Ausley, a 1990 graduate of Washington and Lee’s School of Law, is racing in Florida. Not only is she running to become the state’s chief financial officer, one of three members of the Florida cabinet, but she also competed in the North Florida Olympic Triathlon as part of an unusual campaign fund-raising effort.
Loranne Ausley is a former member of Florida’s House of Representatives, where she served from 2000-2008. Her statewide race for CFO is garnering media attention, and her campaign website reports a steady stream of endorsements.
But it was her triathlon challenge that caught our eye. Loranne and her 28-year-old campaign manager were both training for the event and became fairly competitive in their approach. Feeling competitive, they asking followers to give $28 to the campaign if they thought the younger campaign mangers would win (he’s 28 years old), or $46 to the campaign if they thought Loranne would prevail.
The race, held May 22, consisted of swimming (.93 miles), biking (24.8 miles) and running (6.2 miles). Not only did Loranne beat her campaign manager (by a full 68 minutes), but she also finished second in her age group and was ninth overall among women, with a total time of 2:52:38.1.
Meanwhile, the race for CFO goes on. This week, Loranne’s campaign received an important endorsement from the Police Benevolent Association. Loranne has made a name for herself in Florida as a champion of children’s issues. She chairs the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation, which provides health insurance for low-income children and is a senior adviser to the Lawton Chiles Foundation, which works to support children’s health issues in Florida.
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