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Florida's 4th Congressional District election, 2026

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2024
Florida's 4th Congressional District
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General election
Election details
Filing deadline: April 24, 2026
Primary: August 18, 2026
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in Florida

Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Florida's 4th Congressional District
1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10th11th12th13th14th15th16th17th18th19th20th21st22nd23rd24th25th26th27th28th
Florida elections, 2026
U.S. Congress elections, 2026
U.S. Senate elections, 2026
U.S. House elections, 2026

All U.S. House districts, including the 4th Congressional District of Florida, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. To learn more about other elections on the ballot, click here.

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

  • Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
  • Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. House Florida District 4

The following candidates are running in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 4 on November 3, 2026.


Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Image of Ricky Knoles

WebsiteYouTube

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography "I'm a veteran. I served in the military for 3 years. I worked as a teacher for 14 years. I also worked Sheriff deputy for 6 months. I have been married for over 7 years and have two children."


Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.


Reform Social Security


Universal healthcare for children


Better care for veterans

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png Do you have a photo that could go here? Click here to submit it for this profile!

WebsiteFacebookTwitter

Party: Unaffiliated

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography "I'm retired Navy, and my service to my country isn't quite done. These widely popular issues are being overlooked by our bought politicians on both sides. Our country is at an inflection point and people are starting to wake up to the realization that the two party system isn't working for us. While the two parties have their internal struggles and tear themselves apart, they are leaving us behind. We have a chance to show the country that there is a different way."


Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.


First we need to claw our government back from the big dollar donors that seemingly own BOTH parties. 2026 marks 250 years of independence, it would be a good year to remember George Washington's words from his farewell speech regarding political parties: "cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be able to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government".


Second I'd like to acknowledge the fact that even if I'm elected, only 1 member of Congress out of 435 cannot magically change the world. However, I will do everything in my power to garner like minded support in the House. It has been shown that a handful of representatives can have an outsized affect if they stick together on an issue. This could be used to, at the very least, keep poison pills out of already bloated legislation.


Finally we need to refocus our efforts at home and stop wasting money in foreign entanglements. Republicans can say 'America First' until they are blue in the face, but they just gave the Pentagon a TRILLION dollars in the OBBB. National defense... the real kind... starts right here at home. We want healthy citizens. We want educated citizens. We want thriving citizens. We need manufacturing here and the infrastructure to support it and move it efficiently. Just imagine what is possible if we believe defense at home is worth only HALF of what we've wasted abroad. Once you put it in perspective, it is clear we've been sold short.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Florida

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Expand all | Collapse all

Reform Social Security

Universal healthcare for children

Better care for veterans
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Todd Schaefer (Unaffiliated)

First we need to claw our government back from the big dollar donors that seemingly own BOTH parties. 2026 marks 250 years of independence, it would be a good year to remember George Washington's words from his farewell speech regarding political parties: "cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be able to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government".

Second I'd like to acknowledge the fact that even if I'm elected, only 1 member of Congress out of 435 cannot magically change the world. However, I will do everything in my power to garner like minded support in the House. It has been shown that a handful of representatives can have an outsized affect if they stick together on an issue. This could be used to, at the very least, keep poison pills out of already bloated legislation.

Finally we need to refocus our efforts at home and stop wasting money in foreign entanglements. Republicans can say 'America First' until they are blue in the face, but they just gave the Pentagon a TRILLION dollars in the OBBB. National defense... the real kind... starts right here at home. We want healthy citizens. We want educated citizens. We want thriving citizens. We need manufacturing here and the infrastructure to support it and move it efficiently. Just imagine what is possible if we believe defense at home is worth only HALF of what we've wasted abroad. Once you put it in perspective, it is clear we've been sold short.
Corruption in politics
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Todd Schaefer (Unaffiliated)

1. Get Money Out of Politics

2. Universal Healthcare or at an absolute bare minimum a public option 3. Housing Affordability through getting private equity out of our housing market 4. A minimum wage that isn't 16 years out of date and a way to tie it to inflation 5. Free Speech... I'd say more, but... :D

6. Reduce defense spending and shifting to diplomatic foreign policy over war
I looked up to my grandparents. My grandfather was on disability but always was able to work hard, My grandmother was a waitress and we knew how to stretch a dollar in order to feed the family. They both show me that it doesn't matter if you have money that if you work hard you can have the life you want. They also taught me that you shouldn't neglect what you have in life.
Trustworthy, caring, and decisive.
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Todd Schaefer (Unaffiliated)

Responsiveness to voters over donors or lobbyists would certainly be top of list. Additionally I'd like more elected officials to have a broader vision for the country's future that goes beyond their next election.
Core responsibilities is to be loyal to the voters. You shouldn't represent a party, you shouldn't represent the president, you should always represent the voters first.
I would like to leave a legacy that I helped the people of America. I don't care if they remember my name but instead the policies that I passed in order to make America greater than what it was when I was young.
First major political event that I remember is when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and I was 13 years old. I had to do a report on how and why the Berlin Wall fell. It gave me a sense that people can really make changes over politicians that do not want to help the people. It showed me the power that the people have if we all unite together.
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Todd Schaefer (Unaffiliated)

The Challenger disaster is the first historical event I remember from childhood. I was 7. If that only counts as newsworthy and not historical, I'd say the fall of the Berlin Wall when I was 10. For those who weren't born or were too young, it is hard to describe how much hope there was in our country. That has had a profound impact on my world view. How we could have 'won' the Cold War and ended up where we are now is truly astonishing and depressing in equal measure.
My very first job was at Hardee's in Virginia Beach and I worked there for about 2 years. I started a job when I turned 16 years old. It taught me how to be responsible when you work in a job.
One of my favorite books is the Thin Man by Samuel Dashiell Hammett. My grandfather first showed me the movie and I loved it so much that I wanted to read the book.
If I could be a fictional character I would like to be Spider-Man. Because like Spider-Man's Uncle Ben said with great power comes great responsibility. A lot of congressmans have great power, but they don't want to take responsibility for their actions or their policies.
The thing I struggle about in my life is that I always want to achieve higher than what I did previously. The struggle is to accept things that is out of your hand and learn how to live with it and accept it.
If the US House of Representative is working correctly, it should represent everybody in each state. However, we don't have that working right now. It sees more like red States versus blue States instead of the United States.
No, I don't think you should have previous experience in garment in order to be an effective congressman. All you need is the desire to make America great and rely on smart people around you to guide you on this journey. We have seen in the past. There are plenty of people who don't have political experience but only have money to buy their position.
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Todd Schaefer (Unaffiliated)

I'd love to say it helps, but in our two party environment where candidates are selected by party elites before they can be elected by the people... well, make up your own mind about that.
The greatest challenge is to unite the American people and stop making us being separate by our political party.
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Todd Schaefer (Unaffiliated)

We are standing on the edge of a world that we aren't the masters over. Our foreign policy through the use of war and economic war through sanctions and now tariffs has isolated us in many ways from the world. We need to change course before we are completely on our own.
No, I think House of Representatives should be 3 years because 2 years seem so short and once you get elected you're already campaigning for the next year and are able to concentrate on the issues at hand that affects your state and your country. Each term should be 3 years but limited to 3 terms for a total of 9 years.
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Todd Schaefer (Unaffiliated)

Yes. The House is supposed to be the closest to the people. A shorter term comes with more immediate accountability to the voters.
Us House of Representative should have a term limit of 9 years, US Senate should have tern limit of 12 years.
No, I believe that we can learn from all previous politicians. We learn from their achievements and we learn from their mistakes. And if we try hard enough, we won't make the same mistakes of the past.
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Todd Schaefer (Unaffiliated)

Dennis Kucinich for standing his ground against the Iraq War. He was redistricted out of his seat in 2012 in retaliation for not falling in line. We need those kinds of unwavering principles in power. The closest to that we currently have in the House is Thomas Massie. He has faced backlash from his party for his principles and hasn't bent the knee. We'll see how much they spend to primary him out this year.
I hear many stories how people are worried about social security and how the payments each month won't be enough to sustain them when they retire at age 67. With growing costs of health Care, cost of living and if you don't own your own home renting. Most people who are on retirement have to collect Social Security and work a job in their golden years. They tell me they don't like living on Social Security paycheck to paycheck.
Yes, everything is a compromise if you have a two-party system. However, when parties are more interested in there agendas over the agenda of the American people, then compromise has to be vital for the United States to work.
I believe that if a bill doesn't truly represent the American people, we shouldn't raise revenue for that program. The problem with raising revenue in Congress is a lot of representatives. Don't want to represent the people but rather represent big companies and themselves.
When people are brought in front of Congress, there should be more consequences if they lie under investigation. If someone does not want to answer the question, they should be removed from their position.
I've heard stories from parents that their greatest concern is the safety of the children in school. When I went to school in the '80s, parents never had to worry about their kids being shot, but now it seems it's become more of a reality and a norm to expect mass shootings at schools. We always say that we want to put children first and yet we always put them last.
My greatest accomplishment is having my two children and being married to my wife. Because even if I'm not remembered by anybody else, they will always remember me finally.
Artificial intelligence is the future, but we need to learn how to regulate it so people cannot abuse it or abuse the voters in America. It will take strict guidelines from both parties to agree on how to use AI in government official capacity. We can't stop the future of AI, but we can make sure it benefits the people of the United States.
I believe legislation for election administration has to be consistent among all 50 states. We have to make sure that the districts represent the real people living there. I also believe that if you were running for anything you have to live within that District, not just own a home.


You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Aaron Bean Republican Party $740,550 $378,777 $836,494 As of June 30, 2025
Michael Kirwan Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Ricky Knoles Democratic Party $0 $4,005 $995 As of June 30, 2025
Brittney Robinson Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Anthony Valerio Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Ronald Sherard No Party Affiliation $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Todd Schaefer Unaffiliated $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[1]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[2][3][4]

Race ratings: Florida's 4th Congressional District election, 2026
Race trackerRace ratings
9/23/20259/16/20259/9/20259/2/2025
The Cook Political Report with Amy WalterSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The HillPendingPendingPendingPending
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

This section will contain information on ballot access related to this state's elections when it is available.

District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.

2024

See also: Florida's 4th Congressional District election, 2024

Florida's 4th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 20 Democratic primary)

Florida's 4th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 20 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 4

Incumbent Aaron Bean defeated LaShonda Holloway and Todd Schaefer in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 4 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Aaron Bean
Aaron Bean (R)
 
57.3
 
222,364
Image of LaShonda Holloway
LaShonda Holloway (D)
 
42.7
 
165,912
Todd Schaefer (No Party Affiliation) (Write-in) Candidate Connection
 
0.0
 
73

Total votes: 388,349
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. LaShonda Holloway advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 4.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Aaron Bean advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 4.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2022

See also: Florida's 4th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 4

Aaron Bean defeated LaShonda Holloway and Gary Koniz in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 4 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Aaron Bean
Aaron Bean (R)
 
60.5
 
165,696
Image of LaShonda Holloway
LaShonda Holloway (D) Candidate Connection
 
39.5
 
108,402
Image of Gary Koniz
Gary Koniz (No Party Affiliation) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
5

Total votes: 274,103
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 4

LaShonda Holloway defeated Anthony Hill in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 4 on August 23, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of LaShonda Holloway
LaShonda Holloway Candidate Connection
 
50.2
 
29,352
Image of Anthony Hill
Anthony Hill
 
49.8
 
29,145

Total votes: 58,497
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 4

Aaron Bean defeated Erick Aguilar and Jon Chuba in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 4 on August 23, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Aaron Bean
Aaron Bean
 
68.1
 
49,060
Image of Erick Aguilar
Erick Aguilar
 
25.8
 
18,605
Image of Jon Chuba
Jon Chuba Candidate Connection
 
6.1
 
4,388

Total votes: 72,053
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2020

See also: Florida's 4th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 4

Incumbent John Rutherford defeated Donna Deegan and Gary Koniz in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 4 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Rutherford
John Rutherford (R)
 
61.1
 
308,497
Image of Donna Deegan
Donna Deegan (D) Candidate Connection
 
38.9
 
196,423
Image of Gary Koniz
Gary Koniz (R) (Write-in) Candidate Connection
 
0.0
 
20

Total votes: 504,940
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Donna Deegan advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 4.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 4

Incumbent John Rutherford defeated Erick Aguilar in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 4 on August 18, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Rutherford
John Rutherford
 
80.2
 
80,101
Image of Erick Aguilar
Erick Aguilar
 
19.8
 
19,798

Total votes: 99,899
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates



District analysis

This section will contain facts and figures related to this district's elections when those are available.

See also

Florida 2026 primaries 2026 U.S. Congress elections
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External links

Footnotes

  1. Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  2. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  3. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  4. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
Neal Dunn (R)
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
Anna Luna (R)
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
Republican Party (22)
Democratic Party (8)