Rep. Lawrence McClure, as the House Appropriations Committee Chair, is the No. 2 leader in the chamber, superseded only by House Speaker Daniel Perez in leadership. That easily landed McClure at No. 1 on the list of Tampa Bay’s Most Powerful Politicians.

It’s a remarkable back-to-back showing atop the list, especially for a legislative leader facing term limits this year.

And McClure’s strong stature is also likely due to the fact that his duties as budget chief are not yet done — a Special Session next month will allow lawmakers to complete work on the budget that went unfinished in the 60-day Regular Session.

“As Appropriations Chairman, Lawrence McClure has been a tremendous partner to Speaker Perez. He brings a thoughtful, disciplined approach to the budget process and has been instrumental in advancing priorities in a responsible and effective way,” said Shawn Foster, founder and owner of Sunrise Consulting.

The praise is earned. McClure doggedly fought for a leaner budget, not just in this year’s ongoing negotiations, but in last year’s, too.

In both, McClure and Perez, stood firm in demanding tax cuts — or, this year, continuing them — while also controlling recurring spending to ensure long-term fiscal stability. Out-year projections for the state budget have found likely insolvency in the years to come, with federal funding windfalls from the COVID pandemic gone, and increased costs associated with health care threatening.

The House, as McClure previously described it, remains committed to cutting recurring spending.

“When you put recurring dollars on there, it’s kind of diluting the Legislature in the future,” McClure explained before this year’s Session. “I don’t think the Florida House has shied away from being willing to participate in tough budget conversations.”

While it may have seemed unpopular to some, McClure and Perez’s insistence on tightening the state’s purse strings led to record overtime in the 2025 Session. This year, it prompted a Special Session to finish budget in May. It’s the sort of doggedness that commands respect.

“Lawrence McClure has taken on one of the toughest assignments in state government and handled it with discipline. As House Budget Chair and alternating Chair of the Joint Legislative Budget Commission, he has helped shape the state’s fiscal priorities at a consequential moment for Florida,” said Ron Pierce, President and CEO of RSA Consulting.

And the budget isn’t the only place McClure has asserted his leadership. McClure also spearheaded efforts this year to pass legislation making it harder to sue phosphate mining operators. The bill makes it harder to sue companies like Mosaic by establishing a defense from strict liability in lawsuits brought against a phosphate mining operation based on the presence of a natural geological substance at the site of a former phosphate mine.

While the measure had detractors — mostly Democrats — McClure argued it was needed to protect landowners who have properly notified land buyers or renters of any risk. And he reminded that the bill, which passed, doesn’t alter existing environmental protections or contamination standards.

McClure has also been a key part of the leadership working toward property tax cuts, a plan initiated by Gov. Ron DeSantis and now being weighed by lawmakers searching for the appropriate path. Rather than accede to DeSantis’ desire to eliminate all homestead property taxes, the House put forward a suite of proposals, all carving out the portion that goes toward public schools. But the Senate declined to play ball.

McClure’s role in the property tax debate is further evidence of the House leadership-led vow to reestablish the Legislature as a separate, coequal branch of government.

McClure’s ability to garner respect and, frankly, get stuff done, has been on display long before he wielded the power of the state’s purse strings.

The Dover Republican, elected to office in 2017, established himself quickly as a master of brokering deals in Tallahassee. As Chair of the State Affairs Committee last year, McClure also played a critical policy role in Tallahassee, shepherding some of the most complex and controversial bills to the House floor, but also serving as a graveyard for many more.

Whether watching high-emotion debates about gun control or nixing a controversial elections rewrite days after the committee debuted it, McClure managed the process with appropriate finesse. Not all of that was in conversations airing on The Florida Channel, as McClure worked with leadership and rank membership behind the scenes on policy discussions, establishing McClure as one of the most effective policymakers in Tallahassee.

“Everyone who knows Chairman McClure gets it. He has that quality that doesn’t really have a word to describe it, that special something that somehow puts him in the middle of everything. Maybe it’s because he’s approachable and honest. Maybe it’s because people trust him to take a set of circumstances that seem insurmountable and make sense of it. Clearly, he continues to have a track record of accomplishing things that no one else can,” said Amanda Stewart, CEO of Johnston & Stewart Government Strategies.

“Perhaps it’s because the man can negotiate a major deal from his cow pasture or has figured out how to be one of the most powerful individuals in the State of Florida while still making sure he’s regularly in his daughter’s school car line, or stopping a meeting, no matter who it’s with, to answer the phone when his wife, Courtney, calls, and prioritizing his family above all other things. What he has achieved throughout the Tampa Bay area alone speaks volumes, but when you really consider the impact he has left on the Florida House of Representatives and the successes he has overseen for the entire state, you have to pause to wonder how he does it. In this process, there hasn’t been anyone like him, and we can’t imagine there will ever be another.”

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As for methodology, the Tampa Bay region is defined as Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties, with Hernando, Polk and Sarasota included when their elected officials impact Pinellas or Hillsborough.

A politician is defined as someone currently in office or actively running for office.

Panelists ranked their Top 25, with a first-place vote earning 25 points, second place earning 24, and so on down to 1 point for 25th. Those totals were combined to produce the final list.

We also want to thank our experienced and knowledgeable panelists, who were essential to developing the 2026 list: Vinik Family Office Chief of Staff Christina Barker; former St. Petersburg City Council member Robert Blackmon; Mercury Public Affairs Managing Director Ashley Bauman; Michael Corcoran and Matt Blair of Corcoran Partners; former Sen. Jeff Brandes; Stephanie Cardozo of The Southern Group; Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick managing partner Ron Christaldi; political consultant/strategist Barry Edwards; Vicidial Group President Matt Florell; Sunrise Consulting Group President Shawn Foster; businessman Michael Griffin; St. Pete Catalyst Publisher Joe Hamilton; Clay Hollis of Tucker/Hall; Natalie King of RSA Consulting Group; Moffitt Cancer Center VP of Public Affairs and Communications Merritt Martin; political consultant Chris Mitchell; Mike Moore of The Southern Group; RSA President and CEO Ron Pierce; Tucker/Hall CEO Darren Richards; political consultant Jim Rimes; political consultant Preston Rudie of Catalyst Communications Group; TECO Vice President of State and Regional Affairs Stephanie Smith; lobbyist Alan Suskey of Shumaker Advisors; and Michelle and Peter Schorsch, publishers of Florida Politics.