Andrew Learned has been a staple in our community for years. Before going off to the Navy, he grew up here in Bloomingdale and returned after his service to open GradePower Learning, the local tutoring center so many of us have relied on.
It caught all of us who knew him off guard when he first announced he was running for political office; frankly, as a lifelong Republican turned Democrat, we didn’t know what we’d get. The attack ads against him claimed he was an extremist that none of us who knew him thought to be true.
Since getting elected just two years ago in 2020, Learned has been on a singular mission: to fix the roads in Brandon and Riverview. He’s brought back millions of dollars via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the U.S. Highway 301 and Bloomingdale Avenue, Big Bend Road and Boyette Road I-75 interchange improvements are all a result of that mission.
He was named the vice chairman of the Veterans Caucus, where he helped pass the largest tax break for military families in state history. He passed a bill to reward military-friendly schools and help improve parent choice and helped transitioning military spouses have an easier time with state professional licensing requirements.
Learned has also focused on lowering the cost of living for Floridians. This year in Tallahassee, he fought and delivered reforms to make homeownership more affordable and to ensure that the state’s savings go back into the pockets of consumers. He took on powerful insurance companies and lawyers to address roofing scams that are causing homeowners insurance rates to skyrocket.
Even the gas tax holiday was his original work. While paired down from his original immediate and long-lasting proposal, the upcoming gas tax holiday in Florida was first called for by Learned.
When asked why he’s running for reelection, Learned simply pointed out the choice.
“I am fighting to make our schools safer and better funded, our roads wider, and to respect individual choices. I’m running because we need less polarization and more people doing the actual work for the people,” he said.
Visit www.andrewlearned.com.
