Edward James III, who unsuccessfully ran in 2016 as a Democratic candidate for the District 72 state House seat, co-wrote a chapter in the just-published Races, Reforms, & Policy: Implications of the 2014 Elections. Now an account executive at Brown & Brown Insurance, James was part of collection of scholars to analyze the 2014 election cycle. Along with co-authors Robert Crew Jr. and Alexandra Cockerham, James wrote about Gwen Graham, the former U.S. representative for Florida’s second congressional district who beat Republican incumbent Steve Southerland. Her victory was one of only two seats nationwide where a Democrat defeated a Republican in 2014. James and his colleagues' chapter, “Florida’s Second Congressional District: A Blue Dot in a Field of Red,” pointed to Graham’s aggressive ground campaign as a deciding factor. James’ research for the chapter was part of his master's degree at Florida State University in applied American politics and policy.