10 things to know about new Jacksonville mayor Donna Deegan

"We made history tonight," said Democrat Donna Deegan after the votes were tallied and she became the first female mayor of Jacksonville despite an opponent with more money than any campaign for local office in Jacksonville history and endorsements from Gov. Ron DeSantis, Senator Rick Scott and Rep. John Rutherford.

Here's what you need to know about Jacksonville's new leader.

Is Donna Deegan a Jacksonville native?

Donna Elizabeth Deegan, 62, is a Jacksonville native and graduated from Bishop Kenny High School and received a bachelor's degree in communications from Florida State University.

'We made history tonight': Democrat Donna Deegan becomes first female mayor of Jacksonville

Is Donna Deegan married to Tim Deegan? How many children does she have?

Raised in a Syrian and Lebanese family, Deegan has two children from her former marriage to longtime Jacksonville TV sports anchor Dan Hicken.

She is married to First Coast News chief meteorologist Tim Deegan.

How long has Donna Deegan's family been in Jacksonville?

Deegan's family arrived in Jacksonville when her great-great-grandfather, Jacob Hazouri, a Lebanese immigrant, came to the U.S. and settled in Springfield, according to her bio page. Her grandfather Rufus Hazouri opened the Roosevelt Grill on Ashley Street.

Is Donna Deegan the first female mayor in Jacksonville history?

Amazingly, yes. She was one of four women in the race this year, but she was the first to advance to the mayoral runoff and the first to win. In that, Jacksonville is lagging behind.

All three Beaches cities have elected female mayors. Other major Florida cities including Orlando, Miami, St. Petersburg and Tampa have elected female mayors.

More: Jacksonville is one of few major Florida cities without a first female mayor. Why?

What is Donna Deegan's political party?

Deegan, a Democrat, has been active in Jacksonville politics for some time now.

She jumped into local politics by helping Andrew Gillum's gubernatorial campaign in 2018. He lost the state but won Duval County, and she followed that up with a bid for U.S. Representative of the 4th Congressional District.

Deegan lost, as expected in a heavily Republican district, but raised $1 million and was widely believed to have had a standout performance in the sole televised debate with incumbent John Rutherford.

Deegan launched her campaign for Jacksonville mayor in an announcement loaded with calls for a new approach at City Hall that she said will bring "change for good."

The win is the first for Democrats after Republican Lenny Curry’s win against Democratic Mayor Alvin Brown in 2015. Curry won re-election in 2019 and could not run again because of term limits.

Nate Monroe's instant analysis: Deegan upsets decades of power in winning mayoral race

Turning point? Losses for two candidates backed by DeSantis hurts ability to portray himself as a winner

Is Donna Deegan related to Tommy Hazouri?

Donna Deegan isn't the first Jacksonville mayor in her family.

Her cousin, Tommy Hazouri, spent nearly five decades in Jacksonville's political system including the state legislature, mayor's office, school board and city council. Hazouri was mayor from 1987 to 1991, the third Jacksonville mayor after the governments of Jacksonville and Duval County were consolidated.

He died in 2021 at 76.

Tommy Hazouri: Former Jacksonville mayor who turned painful loss into political resurrection, dies at 76

Was Donna Deegan a news anchor?

Deegan has been on your TV since 1984.

After graduation, Deegan became the morning anchor for WTXL-TV in Tallahassee and then moved to WTVX and Fort Pierce and WPEC in West Palm Beach before coming back to Jacksonville to WTLV, where she started as the anchor of the weekend broadcasts and moved up to anchor of Channel 12's 5:30 and 11 p.m. newscasts in 1993.

She retired from broadcasting in 2014.

Is Donna Deegan a breast cancer survivor?

Deegan was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999 and it recurred in 2002 and 2007. She became an advocate for breast cancer awareness and research and formed the DONNA Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to providing financial support to people living with breast cancer and funding breast cancer research.

The foundation participates in community outreach, provides a national CareLine for assistance, and has served nearly 17,500 families and distributed nearly $5 million in debt relief, according to the website. The DONNA Foundation also helps provide funding for the Mayo Clinic's research into breast cancer.

Did Donna Deegan start the DONNA marathon?

In 2008, the first DONNA marathon, the 26.2 with DONNA The National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer, became the only marathon in the U.S. dedicated to breast cancer research and care. It ran with nearly 7,000 runners and raised more than $825,000. Another marathon, the PLAYERS DONNA 5K was added in 2009, and became part of the DONNA Fearless Series along with the DONNA Mother's Day 5K.

The 26.2 with DONNA marathon was listed as one of CNN Travel’s 7 U.S. Marathons Worth the Trip and voted as "favorite charity race" by Women’s Running Magazine readers.

The event has expanded to become DONNA Marathon Weekend which includes wellness expos, the Donna Dash and 5K events. There was a temporary issue with the 2023 DONNA Foundations's Mother's Day 5K run to avoid any “appearance of improper election influence,” according to Brian Hughes, the city’s chief administrative officer, as it was the day before early voting ends in Jacksonville, but the city relented after a social media uproar.

Donna Deegan: Honoring countless miles run, looking forward to breast cancer-free future

Is Donna Deegan a published author?

Deegan has written two memoirs: "The Good Fight," about her breast cancer treatment and recovery, and "Through Rose-Colored Glasses, a Marathon from Fear to Love," about getting diagnosed for the third time while organizing the first national breast cancer marathon.

What were the Jacksonville election results?

After months of hard campaigning and millions of dollars spent between both sides, Deegan won the highly contested election against Republican Daniel Davis with 52% of the vote.

As of the morning of Wednesday, May 17, the final tally was 113,157 for Deegan, 104,130 for Davis.

Election 2023: See results from Jacksonville, Duval County voting

Contributors: Matt Soergel, Nate Monroe, Hannah Holthaus

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Donna Deegan, new mayor of Jacksonville, Florida. 10 things to know