Sam Garrison excited about what being House Speaker will mean for Northeast Florida

House Speaker-designate Sam Garrison^[1] is speaking out as he prepares to formally cement his path to lead the House.

While it’s been known for years that Garrison, a Clay County Republican, would follow Daniel Perez^[2] as House Speaker after the 2026 election, a Thursday Designation Ceremony will make it official.

Leading up to the pomp and circumstance, Garrison caught up with Florida Politics to share with readers what’s going through his mind and what he hopes to accomplish.

“It’s a combination of nervous energy and excitement,” Garrison said. “I’m excited for what it means for obviously for my family and our team that worked really hard to get us to this point and you know it. It’s an opportunity to celebrate, but I’m also excited for what it means for Clay County and what it means for greater Jacksonville in general. I think it’s a really neat opportunity for our region.”

Garrison stressed the importance of his coming leadership role. Unlike in other states with “megacities,” Florida has a “number of regions that bring something unique and diverse that collect as a whole.” He hopes that his Speakership will allow “Northeast Florida to be spotlighted and to have a voice in that statewide conversation.”

The exact parameters of that conversation likely will be different than the current one, which has seen Gov. Ron DeSantis^[3] often at odds with current House Speaker Perez.

While Garrison isn’t weighing on who he wants to replace DeSantis, he sees opportunity in a fresh perspective that can benefit The Process and the state.

“One thing about term limits that I love is it’s an opportunity for constant renewal,” Garrison said.

In that light, his goal is to “set (the new Governor) up for success going forward,” a success he hopes will continue long after Garrison is out of the Speakership.

Part of that success, Garrison said, will be continuing the path established by the current Speaker, who is a friend and someone who has helped him learn the role.

“He has given me more access and opportunity to be heard as Speaker-designate than I think I could’ve ever expected,” Garrison said of Perez.

Under Garrison’s watch, expect the House to continue asserting its policy preferences just as it has under Perez.

“I don’t think that disagreements between the chambers are a bad thing. In fact, I think that it is the sign of a healthy democracy and the House and the Senate are designed to have different roles in the process,” Garrison said.

“They have different perspectives. And so if we are coming at issues with a different viewpoint with the ultimate end goal trying to be the same, then to me, that’s how the system is supposed to work. It doesn’t bother me that we have disagreements. In fact, I think it’s probably a sign of health.”