Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Joshua Weil
Joshua Weil (Democratic Party) ran in a special election to the U.S. House to represent Florida's 6th Congressional District. He lost in the special general election on April 1, 2025.
Weil also ran in a special election to the U.S. Senate to represent Florida. He will not appear on the ballot for the special general election on November 3, 2026.
Weil completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Joshua Weil was born in East Meadow, New York. He earned bachelor's degrees from Stony Brook University and Northwood University in 2009 and 2011, respectively, and a master's degree from the University of Central Florida in 2013. Weil's career experience includes working as a teacher. He is affiliated with the Islamic Center of Orlando, the Florida Education Association, the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus, and Progressives for Democracy in America - Florida Chapter.[1][2]
Elections
2026
See also: United States Senate special election in Florida, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
Special general election for U.S. Senate Florida
The following candidates are running in the special general election for U.S. Senate Florida on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Ashley B. Moody (R) | |
| Joey Mendoza Atkins (D) | ||
| Ashley Baptiste (D) | ||
 | Paul Ron Cruz (D)  | |
| Frank DiMola (D) | ||
| Charles Gould (D) | ||
 | Alan Grayson (D) | |
| Jennifer Jenkins (D) | ||
 | Tamika Lyles (D) | |
| Evelyn McBride (D) | ||
| Dennis Stevens (D) | ||
 | Michaelangelo Hamilton (R) | |
| Jake Lang (R) | ||
 | A.C. Toulme (R) | |
 | Neelam Perry (No Party Affiliation) | |
| ||||
| = 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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Joshua Weil (D)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2025
See also: Florida's 6th Congressional District special election, 2025
General election
Special general election for U.S. House Florida District 6
Randy Fine defeated Joshua Weil, Andrew Parrott, Randall Terry, and Chuck Sheridan in the special general election for U.S. House Florida District 6 on April 1, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Randy Fine (R) | 56.7 | 110,980 |
 | Joshua Weil (D) | 42.7 | 83,580 | |
 | Andrew Parrott (L) | 0.4 | 702 | |
 | Randall Terry (No Party Affiliation) | 0.3 | 526 | |
 | Chuck Sheridan (No Party Affiliation) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 12 | |
| Total votes: 195,800 | |||
| = 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
- Christopher Manuel Alcantara (No Party Affiliation)
Democratic primary election
Special Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 6
Joshua Weil defeated Ges Selmont in the special Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 6 on January 28, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joshua Weil | 60.7 | 9,721 |
 | Ges Selmont | 39.3 | 6,283 | |
| Total votes: 16,004 | |||
| = 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
- Purvi Bangdiwala (D)
Republican primary election
Special Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 6
Randy Fine defeated Aaron Baker and Ehsan Joarder in the special Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 6 on January 28, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Randy Fine | 83.0 | 33,901 |
 | Aaron Baker | 14.0 | 5,735 | |
 | Ehsan Joarder | 2.9 | 1,201 | |
| Total votes: 40,837 | |||
| = 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
- Don Browning (R)
- Joshua Vasquez (R)
Endorsements
Weil received the following endorsements.
2022
See also: United States Senate election in Florida, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. Senate Florida
The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. Senate Florida on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Marco Rubio (R) | 57.7 | 4,474,847 |
 | Val Demings (D) | 41.3 | 3,201,522 | |
 | Dennis Misigoy (L) | 0.4 | 32,177 | |
 | Steven B. Grant (No Party Affiliation) | 0.4 | 31,816 | |
 | Tuan Nguyen (No Party Affiliation) | 0.2 | 17,385 | |
 | Edward A. Gray (No Party Affiliation) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 190 | |
 | Uloma Ekpete Kama (No Party Affiliation) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 42 | |
 | Moses Quiles (No Party Affiliation) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 33 | |
 | Howard Knepper (No Party Affiliation) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 2 | |
| Total votes: 7,758,014 | |||
| = 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
- Jason Holic (No Party Affiliation)
- Carlos Barberena (No Party Affiliation)
- Shantele Bennett (No Party Affiliation)
- Ahmad Saide (No Party Affiliation)
- Timothy Devine (No Party Affiliation)
- Grace Granda (No Party Affiliation)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Florida
Val Demings defeated Brian Rush, William Sanchez, and Ricardo De La Fuente in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Florida on August 23, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Val Demings | 84.3 | 1,263,706 |
 | Brian Rush | 6.3 | 94,185 | |
 | William Sanchez | 5.6 | 84,576 | |
 | Ricardo De La Fuente | 3.8 | 56,749 | |
| Total votes: 1,499,216 | |||
| = 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
- Allen Ellison (D)
- Edward Abud (D)
- Joshua Weil (D)
- Alan Grayson (D)
- Allek Pastrana (D)
- Ken Russell (D)
- Coleman Watson (D)
- Albert Fox (D)
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Marco Rubio advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Florida.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Calvin Driggers (R)
- Angela Marie Walls-Windhauser (R)
- Jake Loubriel (R)
- Luis Miguel (R)
- Josue Larose (R)
- Ervan Katari Miller (R)
- Earl Yearicks IV (R)
- Kevin DePuy (R)
Libertarian primary election
The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Dennis Misigoy advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate Florida.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Joshua Weil did not complete Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.
2025
Joshua Weil completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Weil's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
- Our public school system is at dire risk with the impending dissolution of the Federal Department of Education. We need to not only win back the house in these upcoming special elections, but elect Democrats who understand public education, but can get in front of these changes and protect our public schools from potentially losing all of the federal supplemental funding that keeps them running, here in Florida.
- Housing affordability is a major crisis across this country, and especially here in Florida. The cause of it is large corporations buying up single family residential homes and controlling the market. Corporate investors currently own over 117,000 single family homes across the state, and it is the reason why working class families and young family cannot afford to purchase a home and are struggling to pay the exorbitant rents this current market is demanding. We need federal, bi-partisan legislation to ban the ownership of single family residential properties by corporations, and putting housing back in the hands of the people who need it.
- Social Security is not an entitlement, it is the money hard working Americans have paid into the system to ensure that they do not have to work until they die. Not only do we need to protect Social Security from the greedy Republicans who are trying to steal it from our seniors, we need to expand the cap and increase the current COLA so that it actually meets the needs of seniors in our current economy, and will continue to meet those needs for years to come.
Progressive Democrats of America - Florida
Progressive Democrats of America - National
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 website
Weil's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Reset the Economy for Workers We need to reset the American economy for working people. Inflation is making it hard for families, seniors, and small businesses to afford basic things. In addition, working people should have the opportunity to achieve home ownership. Last, every time a hurricane or other natural disaster blows through the Florida peninsula, people need help starting over and rebuilding. I have a plan called the ADE (American Dream Economy) to address these real world problems. My proposal has 5 parts, which are intended to off-set the effects of inflation and address the needs of new home buyers and disaster relief victims. I realize that my idea may not solve everything, but the goal is to put forward a blueprint that will make things better for the people of Florida. I also believe that we should give credit where credit is due—to the people doing the work. Josh Weil’s ADE for Florida Plan (American Dream Economy)
For those who wonder how we will pay for all of this, I have two things to say. First, we have to save the drowning victim before we can teach them to swim. So we don’t worry about the cost of the life preserver ring when we are saving them. This drowning analogy applies to working families, seniors on fixed incomes, and small businesses struggling to pay for necessities. Second, if we can afford billions of dollars in tax breaks for the wealthy, then surely we can find a few nickels and dimes in the couch cushions of our nation’s treasury to pay for the small gig worker, new home buyer, or disaster relief victim. Fix Healthcare System I believe that Health Care is a human right. No person should be denied medical treatment because they cannot afford it. Health care in the United States costs nearly twice as much as it does in most developed countries. That increased cost is a function of the insurance industry managing profits for themselves and their investors. It is also because we usually get health care through our employer. So instead of having a “true actuarial pool” that covers everyone, the insurance companies cherry pick and design polices to make money instead of treat patients. The insurance companies also tell doctors what to do to save money, instead of trusting the medical expert’s best advice for treatment for you—the patient. The Affordable Care Act went a long way to improving our health care system. But we need to include everyone in a system such as Medicare. Creating a universal system that includes everyone will ultimately cost less because hospitals end up covering many indigent patients anyway—and then pass those increased costs along to us through higher insurance rates. National polls about health care have consistently showed a significant majority of Americans, across party lines, support “Medicare for All.” In addition, we need to lower the prices of medical prescription drugs and free up doctors to use their best medical judgment when prescribing treatment options, instead of allowing insurance formularies to dictate the choices and the costs. Having a Medicare for All system will also reduce prescription drug prices. Last, I feel it is important to discuss abortion within the context of health care. Abortion is medical treatment. Women need to be able to discuss options safely and privately with their doctors. The government should not be telling women what to do when they get pregnant. Having a child or deciding to abort it is a very personal decision. Blind bans on abortion do not address situations of rape or incest. Abortion bans based on the pregnancy term ignore the unique realities of each woman’s journey through this medical condition, which may require the termination of the fetus to save the woman’s life (that is a private judgement call for doctors and the patient, NOT the government). Abortion is a privacy rights issue and freedom of choice is a very personal decision within the context of health care treatment. I support a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion. Improve Our Schools I believe in public schools. I am a teacher, and there is no greater opportunity for a child than getting an excellent education. Most people think of education in terms of acquiring a set of skills for getting a job and working in the economy. And while that is important, I think our schools have a far more important role in teaching students good citizenship and tolerance. Developing these social skills allows children to participate in our wider society. Eventually students will be able to vote, attend church, determine where to live, decide which organizations to join, select businesses to associate with, and whether to get involved with politics. Thus, like Thomas Jefferson, I believe our very democracy depends upon a “well educated electorate.” Public schools also provide an equal opportunity for all children to aspire to greatness. Schools serve special needs students, children from poor families, and kids from a variety of different life circumstances. Educating all of those young people together teaches them the value of basic human dignity and how to respect everyone (regardless of spoken language, skin color, or other differences). Education provides possibilities for kids and opens doors for their future. Children are innocent and they are our future. Each student deserves a fair chance to achieve success. However, their potential depends upon how we treat them. Education is carried out mostly at the local level, but the Federal government provides key resources and information. Title 1 funding, college applications guidance, special education research, and training for teachers & school administrators is usually provided by the Federal money that schools receive. So eliminating the U.S. “education department” is not a wise idea. Money is not everything, but school funding levels show the value that we place on education. Similarly, having a Federal agency or department of education shows how important education is to our nation and society. Control Border Immigration We need to secure our border. We also need to bring order to our immigration system. However, in solving both of these problems we must address some more fundamental issues about what it means to be an American. The United States has traditionally relied upon immigration as a great source of pride, as well as being a useful economic tool by providing a necessary labor force. In New York harbor, on the Statue of Liberty, we proclaim to the world “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” But many people seem to forget this invitation when they talk about closing our borders. Why are foreign people coming to America? They are trying to build a better life for their families. Most people immigrating to the United States want freedom and the opportunity to improve their situation. They are not looking for a handout. Immigrants have a fierce sense of pride and want to earn their fair share of the American Dream. Many people are also fleeing persecution from their homeland. America offers people all around the world hope because we are the “Shining City on the Hill” as President Reagan called us. We are the restaurant or club that everyone wants to get into. Why would we want to tarnish that image by throwing people out without due process or a fair hearing? In Florida immigration is more important than the rest of the United States because we are literally on the border. Thus, we also see a disproportionate number of people who attempt to reach our shores illegally. But we have a process for dealing with this. The problem is that our “legal immigration system” is overwhelmed. They do not have enough resources or people to process normal immigrations into the United States. The solution is not to assume that everyone who enters our country is a criminal or treat them as illegal. The United States immigration system needs to be comprehensively reformed. People should be able to enter our country legally if they follow the process of obtaining worker permits (green cards) or pursue citizenship. If they break the law, then immigrants should be punished just like other citizens would be held accountable. We also need to fund the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol better so that they can do their job of protecting us from criminals such as drug runners (who are usually not immigrants). Last, there has been discussion that when a person is born here, they might not be a citizen (if their parents immigrated from a foreign nation). We already fought a Civil War over this issue and the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is very clear—that if you are born in the United States, then you are an American citizen. It seems un-American to me to split up families. But if parents are not following the legal process of immigration, perhaps we should show them how and what they need to do—instead of assuming they are criminals or trying to get freebies for their children. When a rich person from a foreign country “visits” America, we always assume they are tourists on vacation. Why is this kind of hospitality not extended to everyone who immigrates to the U.S.? As a nation of immigrants, it seems silly to me when people talk about clearing all of them out. Other than the original “Native Americans,” we are all descendants of immigrants. Should we all go back to where we came from? The United States is the “great melting pot” of cultures from all around the world because we both invite and welcome immigrants into our nation. We are a better and stronger nation because of the diversity that immigrants bring to the United States of America. Protect Our Environment The existential crisis of climate change isn’t just the greatest threat facing our planet; it’s also the greatest opportunity for adding millions of jobs to the American economy. Creating new jobs in green energy helps us address climate change while stimulating our economy at the same time. As your Congressman, I will work to pass the Green New Deal to help the people of Florida. I will also work to limit greenhouse gas emissions and control the amount of carbon that we release into the atmosphere. In Florida we also feel the effects of climate change more directly because we are surrounded by the ocean. Rising sea levels and the increase of more powerful hurricanes visiting us make it hard to ignore the dynamic effects we have on our environment and vice-versa. Rising insurance rates demonstrate the connection between greenhouse warming and the wider effects of extreme global weather patterns, which can no longer be denied. Just like “pollution,” the market has priced in the environmental effects of changing weather rather than ignoring it as an “externality.” In addition to climate change, we must continue to keep our air, water, and land free from pollution. Without the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) we would still be dumping pollution into our streams, skies, and the ground. We must continue to monitor superfund sites for hazardous waste; and clean up what can. And in Florida we have many nature preserves which must be protected from agricultural run-off including an abundance of fertilizers. We cannot take nature for granted because the Earth can only absorb so much pollution before it spits it back out—contaminating our aquifers and ground water, for example. In the economy issue section above I discuss providing extra relief credits for the victims of natural disasters such as hurricanes (beyond what insurance companies may cover). I also think we need to do a better job of partnering locally with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). They are a particularly important resource for Floridians dealing with natural disasters. People rely on FEMA for assistance when their homes and businesses are literally blown away. I will work closely with FEMA to make sure that disaster relief claims are not delayed in processing for Floridians. [3] |
” |
| —Joshua Weil’s campaign website (2024)[4] | ||
2022
Joshua Weil completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Weil's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
- We must develop an infrastructure of compassion to ensure that no American is ever without a roof over their head, food on the table, clean water, or access to health care.
- America should lead the world in clean energy generation, and environmental conversation.
- We must decriminalize marijuana, and provide all of the necessary support to re-integrate all non-violent prisoners back into society, with all rights restored.
Compassion
Environment and Public Works
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
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
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on January 10, 2021
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on January 10, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Joshua Weil's campaign website, “Issues,” accessed February 5, 2025
