Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Joe Melendez
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Joe Melendez (Republican Party) ran for election to the Florida House of Representatives to represent District 43. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Melendez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2024
See also: Florida House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Florida House of Representatives District 43
Incumbent Johanna López defeated Joe Melendez in the general election for Florida House of Representatives District 43 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Johanna López (D) | 57.3 | 35,509 |
 | Joe Melendez (R)  | 42.7 | 26,413 | |
| Total votes: 61,922 | |||
| = 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. Incumbent Johanna López advanced from the Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 43.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Joe Melendez advanced from the Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 43.
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Melendez in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Joe Melendez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Melendez's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
I was born in the state of Connecticut and moved to our district when I was three. I am the son of Pastors, grandson of Missionaries, and great grandson of Pastors. My family originates from the island of Puerto Rico with my dad's side of the family coming from the Ceiba and Fajardo area, while my mom's side of the family comes from Ponce, Coamo, and La Parguera. Since an early age I have learned the importance of serving my community and honoring our servicemen and servicewomen. When I was a little boy, I would assist the seniors of our church in whatever they needed assistance with. This attribute of service would go with me as I got older consequently leading me to be involved in numerous political campaigns, working as an aide for a Federal Senator, working for the Florida Health Department as a state employee, and working a State Representative as her District Aide before resigning to run for political office.
- Our Campaign is one focused on hope. One of the things that lead Joe Melendez to run for office is the time he spent as a District Aide for a State Representative. It was during his service that he saw firsthand how families who have children with unique abilities have had to wait up to sometimes ten to fifteen years to get the service that their children desperately need. As a State Representative Joe Melendez wants to find ways to better fund our healthcare system in Florida and to expedite the wait period for these families.
- Since day one Joe Melendez has been committed towards looking for ways to improve our economy here in the state of Florida. Joe Melendez has seen firsthand the effects of high prices in our community through the numerous phone calls he would receive from people living in their cars in our district. I remember speaking to members of our community who were living in their cars because they could not pay for rent, insurance, and overall goods because of constantly increasing prices. I signed a pledge that I believe would help to ensure that there is relief, and that pledge entails not raising our taxes or creating newer taxes other than the taxes we already have.
- The Joe Melendez campaign is about ensuring the safety and overall wellbeing of our community. One of the reasons why Joe Melendez decided to run for office stems from a tragedy that he saw firsthand. During his time of service, he conducted a food drive for the community where there were two homeless that went seeking assistance. Little did Joe know that the two homeless gentlemen who attended the food drive would have gotten murdered two weeks later inside of the district. During the campaign process Joe has heard the concerns of the community when it comes to safety. From hearing the community mention they have had items stolen to having members of the community mentioning that they have seen drug trafficking going on where they live.
The areas of public policy that I am really passionate about is the economy finding ways to reduce costs by lowering insurance costs through creating competition.
Ensuring the safety of our community by providing more opportunities for the community and police to interact. Allowing police officers to go to go to schools and educate children on what they do.
The people I look up to are my parents. They have taught me how to serve everyone without asking questions. They have taught me if I see or hear about a need to look for ways to help that person. I want to continue following their example because I want to ensure that everyone that I meet has the opportunity to receive the assistance that they deserve. I want to make sure we are all able to have a better community by coming together which is the reason why I want to follow in the steps of my parents.
I believe the movie that best depicts my philosophy of service is the movie Mr. Smith goes to Washington. Just like in the movie I want to have leadership that puts the community first, and that seeks to do the right thing for the community even when it seems difficult to do so.
I believe that it is important to have leaders that are transparent. One of the things that we are unfortunately missing are leaders that are able to show the community what it is they are doing, how they got to the decisions that they made, and overall, what they are planning on doing. I also believe that elected officials should be more accessible to their community. If the community needs them than they should be able to reach them. I believe that elected officials should be committed to achieving results for their community even. I believe that elected officials should always be willing to working hard for the people they represent.
I am a hard worker who believes in pushing through until he sees results. I am someone who is always looking to serve without expecting anything in return. I am someone who believes in listening to those around me. I believe that all of these attributes can make me a successful officeholder because I would be listening to the concerns and needs of our community while also working hard to insure, we get positive results for our community.
I believe that the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office are to pass laws that benefit the overall district and State of Florida. It is crucial for someone in this position to listen to the overall needs of the community to understand what type of laws their constituents want and need them to pass. Another crucial responsibility for someone in this position is to advocate for their constituents. This is one of the things that I would do as a District Aide whenever someone called our office in regard to an issue, they had with a state agency I would quickly get in contact with that state agency in order to ensure that the issue the constituent was having was being resolved. Equally important, someone in this position must bring resources that will benefit the district back to the district. A great example of this is bringing money to the district to improve our infrastructure, increase teachers' pay, and first responders pay to ensure better public safety and education.
I want to make sure that when my time here on earth is done those who have gotten the privilege of meeting or knowing me know that their lives were made a lot better because I was in their lives. I want to make sure that when my time is done people remember me as someone who thrived to work to improve the lives of those around me.
The first historical event that I can remember is 9/11 I was just nine years old. I remember going to school that day and then hearing in the school intercom that they had to dismiss us early. During that time, I was not aware of the reason why they had to dismiss us until we had gotten to a family friend's house and my friend turned on the TV. I remember when I saw the planes hit the twin towers I was in complete and utter disbelief and heartbroken with what I was watching. I remember the next couple of days we were overcome with concern and care for our country. Everywhere you went there was a strong sense of patriotism in the midst of despair and tragedy. I remember seeing how we were all united as one after the tragedy of 9/11.
My very first job was interning with Senator Marco Rubio's office. I worked with his office until my internship finished. My internship lasted about four months.
If I could be a fictional character, I would want to be Sherloc Holmes.
Historia entre tus dedos.
One of my biggest struggles is being too caring. I simply believe that we should treat one another as we want to be treated. I believe that we should seek to work to make sure that everyone's lives are made better each day.
The Ideal relationship between the Governor and the State Legislature is one where the legislature and governor can work together to tackle the tough issues. Issues such as the cost of rent, the cost of insurance, drug trafficking, and human trafficking.
The greatest challenges in my opinion over the next decade is the cost of insurance and ensuring that we are able to keep insurance companies in the state of Florida. The cost of rent is another tough issue that the legislature will be having to tackle over the next decade.
I believe that it is beneficial to have government or political experience. This is what I am bringing with me to the Legislature. I have worked with various political campaigns, as an intern for a Federal Senator, District Aide for a State Representative, and a clerk in the Health Department. My experience interning for a Senator and working for a State Representative have given me the experience that is needed to fight for our constituents. The time I spent as an employee for the Environmental Health Division of the Florida Health Department has provided me with firsthand knowledge of the permitting process which affects many of our businesses.
I believe that it is crucial to build relationships with other legislators including legislators that are in the opposite side of the aisle. I believe that it is crucial to get legislators on your side to be able to pass legislation.
One of the Legislators that I look up to is Representative Susan Plasencia.
At this moment I have no plans to run for a different political office in the future.
During my time knocking on doors there have been a few key stories that have stuck out to me. One of those stories is of a mother who was working two jobs to make ends meet and was still struggling to pay for her groceries, so she had to go to food drives to receive assistance. She informs me that she never thought she would have to go to a food drive for assistance, and that she had to move from the place she used to live because she could not pay for her rent. Just like this mother there have been numerous stories of people who have found themselves having to go to food drives or seek assistance from places they never thought they would have to go. During my time knocking on doors I have heard from our community that they have found their insurance costs jumping to twice even three times the cost of what they originally have had to pay.
I believe the State legislature should oversee or grant the use of emergency powers. I believe that each state is sovereign and should be treated as sovereign. I also believe that each state knows and understands the struggles that their citizens are being forced to face and should be provided with the opportunity to work towards bettering the challenges that their citizens are forced to face.
The very first bill I want to focus on is a bill dealing with insurance. I want to see how we can bring insurance companies from outside of the State of Florida to Florida, as well as bringing back the insurance companies that left. This is in hope of creating competition which will help to lower the costs of insurance. I also want to see how we can create incentives to assist citizens who have older roofs in the state of Florida.
Jay J Rodriguez 2022 Republican Candidate for Florida House District 43
Christopher Wright 2022 Republican Candidate for Florida House District 43
Senator Dennis Baxley
NPA News
Restore Liberty
United Christians of America
Conservative Ministers of Orange County
Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Florida
Hispanic Republican Organization
Violeta Burgos community leader for the Hispanic Community in Central Florida.
Florida Republican Assembly
Senator Miriam Ramirez de Ferrer Puerto Rican Senator
The committees I would like to work in are the Commerce Committee, Education and Employment Commitee, Health and Human Services Committee, and the Judiciary Committee.
I want to be able to see how we can provide more money to small businesses, ensure that we are able to create incentives to bring insurance companies from out of state and see how we can bring insurance companies back to Florida.
I would love to see how we can help strengthen the future success of our students, by making sure that they are financially secure, ensuring that they can be successful in what they want to do in life.
When it comes to health care, I want to make sure we are providing more funding for the healthcare of our Florida families. One thing I want to see is families successfully taken out of waiting lists because they received the assistance that they needed.
I believe that the people should know at all times how the money they are spending is being spent. I believe we must hold the government accountable to ensure that the government is doing what the people want them to do. The people must always be able to know what is going on with the government at all times.
I support certain changes to the current state ballot initiative. I would consider creating a more transparent process that all voters can watch and know that their vote is being taken into account. Currently in Orange County we have a Supervisor of Elections office which allows voters to see their vote being counted in real time. For those who have absentee ballots they are able to trace their absentee ballot and know that their ballot is being counted. I believe these measures can help all voters regardless of their party affiliation know that their voice is being heard through their vote.
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.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Florida House of Representatives District 43 |
Personal |
Footnotes
Current members of the Florida House of Representatives
Leadership
Speaker of the House:Daniel Perez
Majority Leader:Tyler Sirois
Minority Leader:Fentrice Driskell
Representatives
District 1
Michelle Salzman (R)
District 2
Alex Andrade (R)
District 3
Nathan Boyles (R)
District 4
District 5
Shane Abbott (R)
District 6
Philip Griffitts (R)
District 7
Jason Shoaf (R)
District 8
Gallop Franklin (D)
District 9
Allison Tant (D)
District 10
Chuck Brannan (R)
District 11
Sam Garrison (R)
District 12
Wyman Duggan (R)
District 13
Angela Nixon (D)
District 14
Kimberly Daniels (D)
District 15
Dean Black (R)
District 16
Kiyan Michael (R)
District 17
Jessica Baker (R)
District 18
Kim Kendall (R)
District 19
Sam Greco (R)
District 20
Judson Sapp (R)
District 21
Yvonne Hinson (D)
District 22
Chad Johnson (R)
District 23
J.J. Grow (R)
District 24
Ryan Chamberlin (R)
District 25
Taylor Yarkosky (R)
District 26
Nan Cobb (R)
District 27
Richard Gentry (R)
District 28
Bill Partington (R)
District 29
Webster Barnaby (R)
District 30
Chase Tramont (R)
District 31
Tyler Sirois (R)
District 32
Brian Hodgers (R)
District 33
Monique Miller (R)
District 34
Robert Brackett (R)
District 35
Erika Booth (R)
District 36
Rachel Plakon (R)
District 37
Susan Plasencia (R)
District 38
David Smith (R)
District 39
Doug Bankson (R)
District 40
RaShon Young (D)
District 41
Bruce Antone (D)
District 42
Anna Eskamani (D)
District 43
Johanna López (D)
District 44
Jennifer Harris (D)
District 45
Leonard Spencer (D)
District 46
Jose Alvarez (D)
District 47
Paula Stark (R)
District 48
Jon Albert (R)
District 49
District 50
Jennifer Canady (R)
District 51
Josie Tomkow (R)
District 52
John Temple (R)
District 53
Jeff Holcomb (R)
District 54
Randy Maggard (R)
District 55
Kevin Steele (R)
District 56
Brad Yeager (R)
District 57
Adam Anderson (R)
District 58
District 59
Berny Jacques (R)
District 60
Lindsay Cross (D)
District 61
Linda Chaney (R)
District 62
Michele Rayner (D)
District 63
Dianne Hart (D)
District 64
Susan Valdes (R)
District 65
District 66
Traci Koster (R)
District 67
District 68
Lawrence McClure (R)
District 69
Danny Alvarez (R)
District 70
Michael Owen (R)
District 71
Will Robinson (R)
District 72
Bill Conerly (R)
District 73
Fiona McFarland (R)
District 74
James Buchanan (R)
District 75
Danny Nix (R)
District 76
Vanessa Oliver (R)
District 77
Tiffany Esposito (R)
District 78
District 79
District 80
Adam Botana (R)
District 81
Yvette Benarroch (R)
District 82
Lauren Melo (R)
District 83
Kaylee Tuck (R)
District 84
Dana Trabulsy (R)
District 85
Toby Overdorf (R)
District 86
John Snyder (R)
District 87
Mike Caruso (R)
District 88
Jervonte Edmonds (D)
District 89
Debra Tendrich (D)
District 90
Vacant
District 91
District 92
Kelly Skidmore (D)
District 93
Anne Gerwig (R)
District 94
Meg Weinberger (R)
District 95
District 96
Dan Daley (D)
District 97
Lisa Dunkley (D)
District 98
Mitch Rosenwald (D)
District 99
Daryl Campbell (D)
District 100
Chip LaMarca (R)
District 101
Hillary Cassel (R)
District 102
Michael Gottlieb (D)
District 103
Robin Bartleman (D)
District 104
District 105
Marie Woodson (D)
District 106
Fabián Basabe (R)
District 107
Wallace Aristide (D)
District 108
Dotie Joseph (D)
District 109
Ashley Gantt (D)
District 110
Tom Fabricio (R)
District 111
David Borrero (R)
District 112
Alex Rizo (R)
District 113
Vicki Lopez (R)
District 114
District 115
Omar Blanco (R)
District 116
Daniel Perez (R)
District 117
Kevin Chambliss (D)
District 118
Mike Redondo (R)
District 119
District 120
Jim Mooney (R)
Republican Party (87)
Democratic Party (32)
Vacancies (1)
