Earl Dewitt Hutto

Earl Dewitt Hutto (born May 12, 1926) is an American politician. He is a former U.S. Representative from Florida's 1st congressional district.

Born in Midland City, Alabama, Hutto attended Dale County public schools, and received a Bachelor of Science from Troy State University in 1949. He did graduate work in broadcasting at Northwestern University in 1951 and served in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. He worked as sports director at WEAR-TV in Pensacola, Florida from 1954 to 1961, WSFA-TV in Montgomery, Alabama from 1961 to 1963, and WJHG-TV in Panama City, Florida from 1961 to 1973. He operated an advertising agency from 1973 to 1979.

Hutto was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1972 and was reelected in 1974 and 1976. He was elected as a Democrat to the 96th and to the seven succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1979 to January 3, 1995; he was not a candidate in 1994 for reelection to the 104th Congress.

Hutto was one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress during his tenure in office. Despite serving in a district which had turned almost solidly Republican at the presidential level (the district has not supported a Democrat for president since 1960), he usually skated to reelection during the occasions that he faced opposition at all. Nonetheless, it was taken for granted that he would be succeeded by a Republican once he retired.

In 1990, Hutto was nearly defeated by Republican challenger Terry Ketchel, who held Hutto to only 52 percent of the vote—the first competitive contest in the district in recent memory. He defeated Ketchel in a rematch in 1992, but was again held to 52 percent of the vote. The closeness of these two races led Hutto to not run for reelection in 1994. As expected, he was succeeded by a Republican, Joe Scarborough. Proving just how Republican this district had become, Hutto's replacement as Democratic candidate only won 38 percent of the vote--the only time since Hutto's retirement that the Democrats have garnered more than 35 percent of the vote in this district.