A pro-Democratic group has sent out the call that 2016 is the year Florida voters need to choose a female candidate: "Did you know that fewer women have been elected to statewide office than men named William?"
The Sept. 22 email from Ruth's List Florida went on, "More women than men vote in Florida, but 26 men named William have been elected to statewide office, and only 7 women have had the honor."
Is it possible that in Florida's 170-year history, only seven women have filled statewide office? And did voters pick 26 men named William? Get ready for a state civics lesson.
Ruth's List did not respond to our repeated inquiries, so we don't know exactly what they counted. We do know that things can get convoluted. Depending on how you count, 30 men named William — and possibly more — have held statewide office.
But a number of the Williams on our list were appointed to their post, rather than elected, as Ruth's List Florida said. We could confirm 14 Williams actually elected to office. Historical records for a few simply don't give enough detail about how they won office, especially during the state's early history. If we counted all the unknowns as being elected, that would total 22 Williams.
To give you a sense of how difficult counting Williams can be, consider Florida's U.S. senators: Depending on how wide you cast a net, there have been between zero and four Williams in the U.S. Senate.
William James Bryan was appointed in 1907 to succeed a man who died, but then died himself less than three months later at age 31. He was succeeded in 1908 by another appointee, William Hall Milton, who served a year and did not run for re-election. Also appointed as a successor to a dead senator was William Luther Hill, who served four months in 1936 before leaving office without running for a full term.
Finally, there's current Sen. Bill Nelson, who has been in office since 2001 and was state treasurer back when it was an elected position. Nelson's full name is Clarence William Nelson. Should we count him as a William just because he goes by Bill?
There are other twists, and it's entirely possible we're missing a William who was elected state grapefruit juicer or state dog walker or some such.
But even if the total we came up with isn't 26, it's still way more than the number of women we counted.
We counted eight women who were actually elected to office. We had to do some digging to reach that total.
The Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University keeps tabs on women in statewide executive elections. In Florida, those women are:
Pam Bondi (R), attorney general, 2011-present; Jennifer Carroll (R), lieutenant governor, 2011-2013; Alex Sink (D), chief financial officer, 2007-2011; Toni Jennings (R), lieutenant governor, 2003-2007; Katherine Harris (R), secretary of state, 1999-2003; Sandra Mortham (R), secretary of state, 1995-1999; Betty Castor (D), education commissioner, 1987-1993; Paula Hawkins (R), U.S. senator, 1981-1987; Paula Hawkins (R), public service commissioner, 1973-1979; Mamie Eaton Greene, railroad commissioner, 1927-1934.
That appears to be nine — with Hawkins, the state's only female senator, counted once. We'll note the caveat that lieutenant governors are elected on a party ticket. When Gov. Rick Scott won, Carroll won with him. We counted that as winning an election.
On the other hand, Jennings — the first female lieutenant governor — was chosen by then-Gov. Jeb Bush to succeed Frank Brogan. She took over in March 2003 right after Bush's second term began. We didn't count her as elected.
There have been other women in Florida offices, but very few were elected. Dorothy Glisson, for example, was the first woman to serve in a Florida Cabinet position, but she doesn't make this tally, because Gov. Reubin Askew appointed the longtime elections supervisor in 1974 when her predecessor ran for Senate.
Finally, keep in mind that women couldn't run for office or even vote until 1920, so there are fewer decades from which to compile the list. Greene, who first got her seat as railroad commissioner because her husband died in 1927, became the first woman in Florida to win a state office when she ran for re-election in 1928.
Does this mean Florida lags other states? Kathy Kleeman, the communications director at the Rutgers center, said every state organizes its government differently, so there's really no baseline. Maine's governor, for instance, is the state's only statewide executive position.
"All of this makes comparing numbers almost meaningless and percentages not a whole lot better," Kleeman said. "Still, seven — or even nine, as we show on our website — isn't very many in all those years, any way you cut it."
We rate the statement Mostly True.
Edited for print. Read the full version at PolitiFact.com/florida.