Randal "Thrill" Hill, Former Hurricane and Dolphins Player, to Run for Congress

Randal Hill has quite the Miami biography. A native, he won a national championship ring with the Miami Hurricanes in 1989. Known as "Thrill" Hill, his most memorable moment came during the 1991 Cotton Bowl when he scored a touchdown against the Texas Longhorns and continued running all the way to the locker room. Later that year he went on to be the Dolphins' first-round draft pick in 1991. He had two stints with the team, and also played with the Arizona Cardinals and New Orleans Saints during his nine-year career. After football, he picked up a surprising new career: A federal agent for the Department of Homeland Security. 

Now he wants to add one more accomplishment to that biography: Congressman for Florida's District 24. 

Hill tells the Miami Herald that he's officially resigned from Homeland Security and has filed papers to run against Rep. Frederica Wilson.

Hill's already come out swinging, making an issue of Wilson's famous hat collection. 

“If you can tell me what she has done as a Congresswoman then I won’t run,” he told the Herald. “One of the first things she did do was she tried to pass a bill for Congressmen or women to wear hats in the House of Representatives. I don’t know how that is helping the community as a sitting politician.”

He says he has no direct criticism of Wilson, other than he wonders how effective she's been since being elected in 2010. 


District 24 is one of the most Democratic-leaning districts in the country (thanks in part to gerrymandering), and Hill would challenge Wilson in the Democratic primary. The district starts in downtown Miami and covers most of the northeastern parts of the Miami-Dade, excluding Miami Beach, and includes parts of southern Broward. Hill himself currently lives in Davie. 

Wilson, who is 72, is no easy opponent. A former teacher and principal, she first entered elected office back in 1992 as a member of the Miami-Dade County School Board. She then played next-batter-up for former Congressman Kendrick Meek. When Meek was term-limited in the state House and ran for Senate, Wilson won the election to be his replacement. When Meek left the state Senate for Congress, Wilson replaced him. When Meek then left Congress to unsuccessfully run for Senate, Wilson and her hats took his place.