Lawson, Al, 1948-

Alfred James Lawson Jr. (born September 23, 1948) is an American politician who is the U.S. Representative for Florida's 5th congressional district, serving since 2017. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

A native of Midway, Florida, Lawson attended Havana Northside High School where he was a standout athlete in basketball and track. He went on to become a basketball star at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science. After a brief stint as a professional basketball player, Lawson returned to Tallahassee where he landed a job at Florida State University as an assistant basketball coach. Lawson would earn a Master of Public Administration from Florida State.

From 1982 to 2000, Lawson served in the Florida Legislature. From 1982 to 2000, Lawson served in the Florida House of Representatives; from 2000 to 2010, Lawson served in the Florida Senate, the last two years as Minority Leader. In 2010 and 2012, Lawson ran for the Democratic nomination in Florida's 2nd congressional district, losing the primary in 2010 and the general election in 2012. When a lawsuit radically changed the shape of incumbent Democrat Corrine Brown's 5th congressional district, Lawson challenged Brown in the Democratic primary. Lawson's candidacy received a significant boost when Brown was indicted on federal corruption charges a month ahead of the August 2016 primary in which Lawson would defeat Brown and subsequently win in the general election that November. Lawson was reelected in 2018 and 2020.