Ashley Moody Bio
Ashley Brooke Moody (born March 28, 1975) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Florida since 2025. A member of the Republican Party since 1998, she previously served as the 38th attorney general of Florida from 2019 to 2025. Born and raised in Plant City, Florida, Moody built her career in law, the judiciary, and statewide elected office before being appointed to the United States Senate.
Throughout her career, Moody has been known for her work in civil litigation, federal prosecution, and state-level legal policy. As attorney general, she frequently challenged federal policies and ballot measures, joining multi-state litigation on behalf of Florida. Her confirmation to the U.S. Senate marked the next step in a career that has spanned courtrooms, statewide campaigns, and national political debates.
Early Life and Background
Ashley Brooke Moody was born in Plant City, Florida, on March 28, 1975. She is the oldest of three children born to Carol and Judge James S. Moody Jr., whose service in the Florida judiciary helped shape her early interest in law and public service. Growing up in a household connected to the legal profession gave Moody direct exposure to courtroom culture and the responsibilities of judicial office from a young age.
Moody graduated from Plant City High School in 1993 and went on to attend the University of Florida, where she earned both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in accounting. While at the University of Florida, she served as president of Florida Blue Key, one of the university’s most recognized student leadership organizations. She later earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Florida School of Law, followed by a Master of Laws in international law from Stetson University College of Law, giving her a broad academic foundation in both business and the law.
Path to US Politics
Moody’s entry into public life began alongside her legal training. While still a student, she interned for Martha Barnett, the president of the American Bar Association, gaining early exposure to national legal leadership. She later joined the international law firm Holland & Knight, where she worked in civil litigation and developed the practical litigation skills that would define her early professional career.
In January 1998, Moody switched her party affiliation from Democratic to Republican as Republicans were set to gain majority control of the Florida Legislature. Florida Governor Jeb Bush appointed her as the student representative on the Board of Regents, the now-defunct body that governed the state university system, giving her first-hand experience in higher-education policy. She was subsequently appointed an assistant U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Florida, a position that transitioned her from private practice into federal public service and set the stage for her later judicial campaign.
Ashley Moody Career
Early Career (2006–2017)
In 2006, Moody was elected to serve on the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida in Hillsborough County, beginning a decade-long tenure as a circuit court judge. Her prior work as an assistant U.S. attorney helped her win the seat, and she built a reputation on the bench for handling a steady caseload of civil and criminal matters. During this period, she also contributed to legal education and bar activities connected to her earlier internship with the American Bar Association president.
On April 28, 2017, Moody resigned from the court to run in the 2018 Florida attorney general election. In the Republican primary, she defeated state representative Frank White, positioning herself as the party’s nominee. In the general election, Moody defeated Democratic nominee Sean Shaw, a state representative, with 52 percent of the vote to Shaw’s 46 percent, securing her first statewide office.
Breakthrough (2019–2022)
As Florida’s 38th attorney general, Moody quickly became a national voice among Republican state law-enforcement leaders. She kept Florida in a multistate lawsuit that sought to have the Affordable Care Act deemed unconstitutional, arguing that the federal health-care law exceeded congressional authority. She also took a leading role in ballot-measure fights, including efforts to disqualify 2022 and 2024 initiatives to legalize recreational cannabis in Florida on the grounds that their summaries were misleading about federal law.
Moody opposed the restoration of voting rights for former felons and worked with Governor Ron DeSantis on legislation requiring the payment of all court fees before voting rights could be restored. During the 2020 presidential election, Politico described her as one of Donald Trump’s biggest surrogates in Florida, and after Joe Biden won the election, she took a leading role in efforts to contest the results. On December 9, 2020, Moody and 15 other state attorneys general announced their support for a lawsuit by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asking the Supreme Court of the United States to invalidate the presidential election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case in a 7–2 decision.
She was reelected in 2022 over Democratic nominee Aramis Ayala by a 21-point margin, a result that cemented her position as one of Florida’s most prominent Republican officials. In 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Moody sued the federal government and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over requirements that cruise ships carry 95 percent fully vaccinated passengers, framing the rules as an overreach of federal authority.
Republican Era (2023–Present)
Throughout her second term, Moody continued to focus on litigation against federal policies and on ballot-integrity issues. In January 2024, she petitioned the Florida Supreme Court to disqualify a ballot measure to expand abortion access, claiming its language could mislead voters. The measure remained on the ballot but failed to garner the necessary 60 percent of the vote to amend the Florida Constitution.
On January 16, 2025, Governor Ron DeSantis announced his intention to appoint Moody to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Marco Rubio, who had been nominated to serve as Secretary of State in the second Trump administration. Moody was sworn in on January 21, 2025, alongside former Ohio lieutenant governor Jon Husted, by Vice President JD Vance, and was escorted by fellow Florida senator Rick Scott. In December 2025, she voted against extending the Affordable Care Act health care premium subsidies, signaling continuity with her longstanding legal positions. Moody is running for the Republican Party nomination in the 2026 United States Senate special election in Florida.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among Moody’s most consequential actions as attorney general were her defense of the Affordable Care Act challenges, her successful push to keep two 2022 cannabis measures off the ballot, and her late-2020 support of the Texas v. Pennsylvania lawsuit seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Her 2022 reelection victory by 21 points and her 2025 appointment to the U.S. Senate both marked major milestones in a career that has moved from the courtroom to the upper chamber of Congress.
Ashley Moody Family
Family Background and Public Service Lineage
Ashley Brooke Moody is the daughter of Judge James S. Moody Jr. and Carol Moody, and the oldest of three children. Her father’s long service on the Florida bench provided a direct connection to the state’s legal system and shaped her early understanding of judicial responsibility. That family background contributed to her decision to pursue law, public service, and eventually elected office in Florida.
Personal Life
Moody is married to Justin Duralia, the deputy chief of the Plant City Police Department and a former Drug Enforcement Administration officer. The couple has two children. Her family has remained based in the Plant City area, the community where she grew up and began her legal career.