Meet Ashley Moody, the former judge picked to replace Marco Rubio in the Senate

After weeks of speculation about who would replace Marco Rubio in the Senate, Ron DeSantis announced that Ashley Moody was his pick. The Florida governor praised the choice, asserting that she is a person who prioritizes results over rhetoric.

After shuffling a host of choices that included José Oliva, Jeanette Núñez and James Uthmeier, Governor DeSantis opted for Moody, whom he described as a prosecutor who prioritizes "law and order."

"I look forward to seeing Senator Moody fight the good fight against the entrenched interests in Washington, and I know she will be a critical part of bringing President Trump's America First agenda to fruition," the Republican governor added, who recently played golf with Donald Trump.

Who is Ashley Moody?

She is very popular among Florida Republicans. In fact, she is the only elected official in the state to beat the DeSantis margin of victory in her two elections, 2018 and 2022.

In her youth, she earned three undergraduate degrees from the University of Florida and a master's degree in international law.

After a stint in private practice, Moody began working for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Middle District of Florida, where she prosecuted drug, firearms and fraud-related offenses.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement praised her work, particularly her leadership of “Operation Round-Up,” a targeted prosecution of violent and repeat offenders.

Her public career took off in 2006, when she was elected at age 31 to the Circuit Court of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County, making her the youngest judge in the state.

"As a judge, she founded the Attorney Ad Litem program, which recruits volunteer attorneys to take the place of parents who do not appear in court with their children. She also developed a mentoring program for at-risk children within the juvenile delinquency system," her profile reads.

In 2018, she successfully ran for attorney general, defeating Democrat Sean Shaw with 52% of the vote. Her 2018 candidacy was backed by a prominent slate of state Republicans, including Pam Bondi, Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Matt Gaetz.

As attorney general, she supported invalidating the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and pushed for the legalization of marijuana.

She also repeatedly clashed with the Biden administration, particularly on immigration cases. She also led challenges to regulations imposed on washing machines, medical protections for transgender patients and college accreditation rules.

With Moody's election, Governor DeSantis elected the second woman in history to represent Florida in the Senate. The first was Paula Hawkins, who held the position from 1981 to 1987.

"I've got the backs of the American people," Moody went on. "I am driven by many things in life. I will bring the influence of many things, in my life, my experiences certainly, but I am driven by my faith in God. First and foremost. I am driven by the fact that I am a mother and I still have a kid in school … I'm a trained accountant, so I can shrink the bloat of the federal government," Moody said of her Senate bid.