Paula Hawkins (politician)

Paula Hawkins (née Fickes; January 24, 1927 – December 4, 2009) was an American politician and community activist who represented the state of Florida in the United States Senate from 1981 to 1987. A member of the Republican Party, she was Florida's first female U.S. senator and the only woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Florida, as of 2025. She was the first woman elected to a full Senate term without having a close family member who previously served in major public office and the second woman ever elected to the Senate from the American South.

Born in Utah and raised primarily in Georgia, Hawkins moved to Florida in 1955. After beginning her career as a community activist and Republican volunteer, she was elected statewide to the Florida Public Service Commission in 1972 and re-elected in 1976. In 1974, Hawkins was the runner-up in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. In 1978, she was the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor; selected as the running mate of businessman Jack Eckerd. In the 1980 U.S. Senate election, Hawkins defeated Democratic nominee and Florida state treasurer Bill Gunter, becoming only the second Republican elected to the senate from Florida since Reconstruction. Her predecessor, Richard Stone, resigned from the senate early and Hawkins was appointed by Governor Bob Graham to fill the remaining three days of his term. During Hawkins's tenure in the Senate, she supported the policies of President Ronald Reagan and was particularly active in the realm of child welfare. In 1986, she was defeated for re-election by incumbent Democratic governor Bob Graham.

After leaving the Senate, Hawkins remained active in the American conservative movement and served as U.S. representative to the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission from 1990 to 1997. She suffered long-term tribulations with back pain, due to an automotive accident, and was partially paralyzed in 1998 as the result of a severe stroke. On December 4, 2009, Hawkins died in Winter Park, Florida, due to complications from a fall, at the age of 82. In 2010, she was honored as a "Great Floridian" by Governor Charlie Crist.