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January 31st , 2025 Len’s Political Note #704 Josh Weil for Florida 06
2025 Special Election
Josh Weil
Turn your eyes away from the presidency and the president’s cabinet and the president’s executive orders for a moment. Think about the House of Representatives. Republicans have a majority in the House. The majority is 218 to 215. Two Florida seats are vacant. The majority could get down to 217-215 before the Florida special elections are over. There will be a New York vacancy as soon as the Senate confirms the nomination of Representative Elise Stefanik as Ambassador to the United Nations.
The Florida vacancies arise similarly – through Presidential nominations. Remember, when considering a donation to the congressional candidates in Florida, there is no long run. We have two months. Tomorrow is the first day of February. We have February and March. The election is on April 1.
Florida 01. Representative Matt Gaetz was nominated to be Attorney General. The reaction was so adverse, he withdrew his name. He also resigned from the House of Representatives, leaving a seat to be filled by a special election. The Democratic candidate for this seat is Gay Valimont, the former head of the Florida chapter of a gun safety organization and formerly a candidate against Matt Gaetz. The winner of the Republican primary and, therefore, the Republican candidate for the seat is. Read more about Gay Valimont’s candidacy Len’s Political Note #694 and DONATE to her via Act Blue. Florida 01 is at the western end of the panhandle, surrounded by Alabama and the Gulf of …… (I think I will still call it) Mexico.
Florida 06. Representative Michael Waltz was nominated to be National Security Advisor. He has resigned from the House of Representatives. Republicans and Democrats had a primary on January 28. The election for this seat is April 1. Today’s piece is about the Democratic nominee for this seat – Josh Weil. I ask you to DONATE to support his candidacy. Florida 06 is on the Atlantic coast, south of Jacksonville, north of Orlando, and extending to central Florida,
New York 21. Elise Stefanik has not yet resigned from Congress. She will resign when she is confirmed as Ambassador to the United Nations. When there is a vacancy, New York’s Governor Hochul will schedule a special election. There will not be a primary. The chairs of the County Party Committees will select their party’s nominees. Part or all of 15 counties are in New York 21. Neither party has a clear process for selection. Choosing a nominee will not be simple.
If Democrats were to win all three of these special elections, they would flip the House of Representatives. Democrats would control the House 218-217.
That’s not likely to happen. Winning one of those seats would be a major triumph for Democrats. Keeping the Florida districts from being carried by a Republican with 60% or the vote would be a satisfactory result for the Democrats.
Take these races seriously. Aim for victory. Support these candidates. Even the smallest possibility of winning three seats is worth expending energy on; worth spending some money, too. If Democrats can keep the Republicans under 60%, that will be a vote of no confidence in Donald Trump.
A special State Senate election in Iowa on January 28 provided the first clue that Democrats can believe wins are possible. To fill a vacancy because the incumbent state Senator had been appointed to fill the Lt. Governor vacancy, Democrat Mike Zimmer, a construction company owner, former teacher, and education advocate defeated Republican activist Katie Whittington 52-48 in a district that Trump had carried 60-39 and the state Senator, now Lt. Governor, had carried 61-39.
Could Josh Weil (pronounced “wheel”) pull off an actual win? He has taken on the toughest of tough jobs. He is a single dad raising two kids. And he is a middle school teacher, teaching boys who have been removed from regular classrooms.
Before settling in Florida, Josh Weil spent his college years in Michigan and New York. He got an Associate’s Degree from Lansing Community College in Michigan, a BS from Stony Brook University on Long Island, a BBA from Northwood University back in Michigan, an educational specialist degree from Stetson University in Florida, and an MA from the University of Central Florida.
From the very beginning of his teaching, he worked with kids who were unable to work effectively in typical classrooms. He had educational goals, not political ambitions. He had one incident at a boarding facility where a kid grabbing him led to a violent reaction and him being suspended for three-days. Weil does not minimize that incident, but he has earned respect from his middle schoolers and his supervisors. The position he is taking a leave from to run for Congress is as an instructional coach for other teachers.
Weil can be compelling when he explains that he moved to a greater involvement in politics after phone banking and canvassing in unsuccessful Democratic campaigns in 2020. He sets three goals for his service in Congress: To fix healthcare, to reset our economy, and to protect our environment. He is raising enough money to have a presence — $250,000 at the last reporting deadline, $500,000 he says in a recent statement.
He uses his website and interviews and debates to explain himself as a person:
“I live in Orlando with my two boys, David and Alexander. I get up every morning and make three breakfasts and three lunches before shuffling my kids off to school. We play Magic Cards, watch hockey, and never miss an MCU [Marvel] film. What I’m NOT is a career politician looking to maintain the status quo in Washington. I was moved to join the race by my children and students, who deserve to grow where we care about the facts, the planet, and each other.”
Weil is unsparing in his criticism of President Trump and his opponent for Congress and Trump acolyte, State Senator Randy Fine. “…Donald Trump is trying to maintain his slim lead in the House by railroading the vile and repugnant Randy Fine into the seat being vacated by Mike Waltz in District 6. Fine is the epitome of everything that is wrong with America today, and getting him in will ensure that Trump has the votes he needs to dismantle the Department of Education, overturn the Affordable Care Act, and enact a federal ban on abortion rights and women’s access to health care.”
Josh Weil argues that progressive candidates, if sufficiently funded, run well in Florida. He says there are “two groups of dissatisfied voters: Democrats and those who voted for Republicans who didn’t bargain on the direction Trump has taken….” Initially Weil’sstatement was directed at the prospective inflationary impact of tariffs, now Trump has given him lots more – from illegal staff firings to petty vengefulness in removing security details from his “enemies” to attempting to shut off the federal spigot for everything except social security to eliminating birthright citizenship. There are plenty of Floridians with origins in Cuba or elsewhere in the Caribbean or South America who understand their children to be US Citizens, but would not be citizens if Trump successfully removed birthright citizenship. Josh Weil insists he offers hope to members of both Democrats and Republicans shocked by Trump’s behavior.
And Josh Weil’s opponent? Like Josh Weil, Randy Fine, without political experience, expressed interest in a US Senate run. Fine’s interest was longer ago and he had his own money to spend on the run. Neither got far. Fine was subsequently elected a state Senator instead.
Randy Fine made his money in the gaming industry. When he was considering a US Senate run, he turned to Sheldon Adelson in Las Vegas for help. He created a website for the purpose and boasted that he helped “Carl Icahn turn around and sell his gaming company for a $1 billion profit.”
Known for his opposition to rights for members of the LGBTQ community, Randy Fine acknowledged his primary victory with the following statement: “G-d saved @realDonaldTrump’s life so he could save the world. And tonight, both of them, [he appears to mean God and Donald Trump] powered by my amazing family and all of you who voted for me, put me one step closer to being able to help him do that. I swear I won’t let any of you down.”
Ordinarily, I would not encourage readers to donate money to a contest that could conceivably turn out to be a 2-1 majority against the Democratic candidate. This time, II urge you to take a risk. There is a touch of John Fetterman in Josh Weil’s candidacy. He could reach the dissatisfied Republicans. It is worth a try. DONATE to Josh Weil now.
The Other Special Election in Florida. Both elections are on April 1
FL 01. Gay Valimont was the Florida head of a national gun safety group before tragedy struck her family. We now know that Gay Valimont’s opponent is Jim Patronis, who has resigned from being Florida’s Chief Financial Officer to run for FL 01. A Trump acolyte, as the state’s CFO, he proposed that Florida taxpayers pay up to $5 million to cover Donald Trump’s legal bills defending himself from his several indictments. See Len’s Political Note #694 to learn more about Gay Valimont. DONATE to her campaign. Donate now. As with Josh Weil, the potential gain here, while unlikely, is so great that it is worth spending time, energy, and money on her candidacy.
“Non Partisan” General Elections in Wisconsin are on April 1
Superintendent of Public Instruction: Jill Underly DONATE. See Len’s Political Note #693.
Wisconsin Supreme Court: Susan M. Crawford. DONATE See Len’s Political Note #684. A recent New York Times article describes this race which, if Crawford is successful, would keep the Wisconsin Democratic 4-3 majority. It would also preserve the un-gerrymandered redistricting in Wisconsin and the right to abortion. The Times described it is an expensive competitive election.
And remember: April 1 is only two months away. Donate to candidates now.