John Rutherford

A candidate for the Jacksonville City Council filed a complaint against Rutherford in February, alleging violations of the Federal Hatch Act of 1939, which prohibits employees working for federally funded agencies from running for office in partisan elections.

In the 1950s, Rutherford's family moved to Jacksonville, Florida.

John Henry Rutherford (born September 2, 1952) is an American politician and former police officer serving as the U.S. representative from Florida's 5th congressional district since 2017.

His district encompasses most of Jacksonville and most of its suburbs in Nassau and St. Johns counties, including St. Augustine.

John Rutherford was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1952.

His father was in the U.S. Navy and was serving in Korea at the time of his son's birth.

He graduated from Nathan Bedford Forest High School in 1970.

He surfed in his free time.

In 1972, he earned his Associate of Science in criminology from Florida State College at Jacksonville, formerly Florida Junior College, followed by his Bachelor of Science in criminology from Florida State University in 1974.

Rutherford spent 41 years at the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, first as a sheriff's deputy and for the final 12 years as the elected sheriff.

He joined the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office in 1974 as a patrolman.

He was promoted to sergeant in 1980 and ultimately rose to the rank of captain.

At various points, he commanded the Arson and Burglary divisions, led the Police Academy, and led patrol units on the Southside.

He was also Chief of Services, Traffic and Special Operations, and Chief of Patrol.

He was appointed director of corrections in 1995 by then-Sheriff Nat Glover.

In that role, he was responsible for overseeing the jail.

Rutherford's tenure was marked by rises and falls in crime: from 2002 to 2005, Jacksonville suffered an increase in murder and other violent crime; murders briefly declined in 2005, but then rose again each year until 2008, when another decline began.

Rutherford was an officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office for four decades, before being elected Duval County sheriff in 2003; he remained in that post until 2015.

Rutherford ran for Jacksonville Sheriff in 2003.

Rutherford said that a lawyer had told him there was no conflict, but he retired in March 2003 anyway, in order to remove any doubt, with 28 years of service.

In 2007, the Florida Times-Union endorsed Rutherford for reelection—saying that he was generally moving his department "in a positive direction"—but criticized the pace and inadequacies of key initiatives, such as reducing the murder rate, tackling illegal guns, and initiating a management audit.

Overall, the Jacksonville crime rate was about the same at the beginning and end of Rutherford's tenure.

As sheriff, Rutherford was a staunch critic of State Attorney Harry Shorstein and an ally of his successor, Angela Corey.

He was credited with improving the sheriff's department's capacities to deal with mental health matters and his oversight of a prisoner reentry program, but was criticized for enduring tensions and a lack of trust between the local African American community and police, as well as a high number of police shootings by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Jacksonville had the ninth-highest rate of justifiable homicides among the U.S.'s 105 largest police department efforts between 2007 and 2012.

The Florida Times-Union reported in 2015, "Supporters and even those who criticize him say Rutherford has been steadfast and unwavering in his faith and his convictions as a lawman, a trait some say has brought success while others say is to his detriment."

Originally he announced he would run for Florida's 6th congressional district in 2015.

Because the 4th district is a Republican safe seat, Rutherford was heavily favored in each election.

In 2016, he ran for the House of Representatives in what was at the time Florida's 4th congressional district.

After initially considering a run for the state House, Rutherford announced his candidacy for Florida's 4th congressional district on April 15, 2016, for the open seat created by the retirement of the Republican incumbent, Ander Crenshaw.

In the August 2016 Republican primary, Rutherford faced State Representative Lake Ray, St. Johns County Commissioner Bill McClure and former St. Johns Water Management District executive director Hans Tanzler III.

Rutherford won the nomination with 38.7% of the vote, to Ray's 20.1%, Tanzler's 19.0%, and McClure's 9.8%.

In the general election, Rutherford defeated Democratic nominee David Bruderly, 70.2% to 27.6%.

He won the election and was reelected in 2018, 2020, and 2022.

Rutherford is a Republican.

In 2018, Rutherford was challenged by Democratic nominee Ges Selmont, a Ponte Vedra Beach attorney.

He was reelected, 65.2% to 32.4%.

In 2020, Rutherford won re-nomination in a low-key Republican primary, defeating retired Navy chief petty officer Erick Aguilar with 80.2% of the vote to Aguilar's 19.8%.

In the general election, Rutherford defeated Democratic nominee Donna Deegan, a former local TV anchor and breast cancer awareness advocate, 61.1% to 38.9%.

Rutherford won the Republican primary with 65.6% of the vote.