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Justin Waters
Justin Waters (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Florida's 3rd Congressional District. He lost in the Republican primary on August 23, 2022.
Waters completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Justin Waters was born in Oldsmar, Florida. He served in the U.S. Navy from 2008 to 2009. Waters earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida in 2007 and a J.D. from the Florida Coastal School of Law in 2015. His career experience includes working as a family law attorney.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Florida's 3rd Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House Florida District 3
Incumbent Kat Cammack defeated Danielle Hawk and Linda Brooks in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 3 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kat Cammack (R) | 62.5 | 178,101 |
 | Danielle Hawk (D)  | 36.3 | 103,382 | |
 | Linda Brooks (No Party Affiliation) | 1.2 | 3,410 | |
| Total votes: 284,893 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 3
Danielle Hawk defeated Tom Wells in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 3 on August 23, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Danielle Hawk | 67.6 | 37,181 |
 | Tom Wells | 32.4 | 17,799 | |
| Total votes: 54,980 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 3
Incumbent Kat Cammack defeated Justin Waters in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 3 on August 23, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kat Cammack | 85.2 | 63,279 |
 | Justin Waters | 14.8 | 11,022 | |
| Total votes: 74,301 | |||
| = 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
- Manuel Asensio (R) (Unofficially withdrew)
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Justin Waters completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Waters' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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are lifetime Floridians and are proud to raise and educate our children in North Central Florida public schools.
I understand the value of the American family; a strong economy; and a culture that values freedom, individual rights, and living in harmony with one another. I am a husband, father, sixth generation Floridian, and outdoorsman. I received my Bachelor of Arts from the University of South Florida in 2007, and I graduated from law school at Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, FL in 2015. Part of my law school tuition was paid for with support from the Post-9/11 GI Bill because of my honorable service in the United States Navy. Today, I work as a juvenile law attorney to defend the best interest of children who are under the protective supervision of the state because of abuse, abandonment, or neglect by their parents.
I am a Republican. As a constitutional conservative, I am committed to passing laws that are grounded in tradition and the U.S. Constitution. As a fiscal conservative, I am committed to reducing government spending wherever possible and ensuring government accountability where money is spent.- Illegal Immigration: Everything legal and ethical should be done to stop illegal immigration. Development on the border wall should resume, the Remain in Mexico Policy should be reinstated, and Title 42 covid expulsions should continue.
- Economy: I support keeping taxes low while removing regulations and tariffs. Businesses will thrive if they are not burdened by government red tape.
- Public Safety: Any effort to defund law enforcement is unacceptable. I’ve worked as a Child Protective Investigator with the Department of Children and Families, and I’ve responded to homes with police escort because there are many situations where a social worker is not enough. Law enforcement is the thin blue line that holds civilization together. Go Blue!
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
Waters' campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Supporting Republicans I strongly support Governor Ron Desantis, and I am committed to seeing Republicans win Florida, Congress, and the next presidential election. I will grow the party.
I support keeping taxes low while removing regulations and tariffs. Businesses will thrive if they are not burdened by government red tape. We need to lower our national debt and get spending under control. We must end enhanced federal unemployment benefits because people should not be paid more to not work than to work. I oppose the $15 national minimum wage because it will discourage businesses from hiring unskilled workers and teenagers, result in inflation, and cause businesses to go bankrupt and layoff workers. The businesses that do survive will rely more on automation and less on employees. I oppose actions to limit the use of fossil fuels. A strong economy needs affordable energy, and the most affordable energy comes from fossil fuels.
Everything legal and ethical should be done to stop illegal immigration. Development on the border wall should resume, the Remain in Mexico Policy should be reinstated, and Title 42 expulsions should continue. Children who cross the border illegally with their caregivers should not be indefinitely detained, but their caregivers should be detained. Releasing children and their caregivers incentivizes more adults to illegally and dangerously cross the border with their children or children they fraudulently claim are their own. The children who cross the border illegally should be placed in a safe and stable placement, but their caregiver should be detained until they receive an adjudication on their immigration status. Immigration must be managed wisely. The rate of immigration should not exceed the time it takes to educate and integrate immigrants into the economy. We need a merit-based immigration system that ensures those who migrate to the United States are legal, educated, and value American law. I support the Ten Steps to Fix the Broken Immigration Enforcement System, recommended by NumbersUSA.
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were caused by terrorist alliances who are still in operation today. It was a big mistake for President Biden to leave billions of dollars worth of military equipment without maintaining a ground presence in Afghanistan; however, I do not support reinvading Afghanistan. President Biden's dysfunctional withdrawal from Afghanistan was a betrayal to our military personnel, allies in Afghanistan, and the nations who supported us in Afghanistan. To address the problem of international terrorism, the US cannot operate alone in the world. The United States must develop working alliances with NATO countries and other strategic allies, including politically challenging countries such as China and Russia. I do not support the US involving itself in border disputes or the civil wars of other nations. We should secure our own border before we talk about protecting the border of other nations.
Covid-19 is a serious illness but it never justified economic lockdowns. Since April 2020, I’ve been a vocal critic of lockdowns and advocated for the state to reopen. I created one of the largest Reopen Florida groups on the internet. While other kowtowing candidates tolerated the authoritarian lockdowns, I clearly saw that the harm of lockdowns were greater than the harm of the coronavirus. I support voluntary Covid-19 vaccinations if a person chooses the vaccine, but I oppose vaccine passports and government mask mandates.
Any effort to defund law enforcement is unacceptable. I’ve worked as a Child Protective Investigator with the Department of Children and Families, and I’ve responded to homes with police escort because there are many situations where a social worker is not enough. Law enforcement is the thin blue line that holds civilization together. Liberals criticize the high incarceration rate in the United States; however, there is evidence the incarceration of parents and siblings can reduce future incarceration levels in children. If we want to end the culture of crime, we must get tough on career criminals and recognize when rehabilitation is not likely. Due to the legalization of marijuana/cannabis that is occurring in some states, I support empowering the Drug Enforcement Administration to develop consumer safety guidelines for the interstate sale and transportation of cannabis in order to have a federal regulatory structure that can manage the legal sale and transfer of cannabis between states. I support allowing each state to decide if they will legalize or criminalize cannabis.
I am a strong supporter in the Second Amendment. I believe that the government should not infringe on our Second Amendment rights. My family and I have been members of a hunting club since I was 12, and I grew up hunting at my grandparents' farm. Hunting is our family tradition. 18-Year-Olds Should Have the Right to Purchase a Firearm. In 2018, Florida changed the minimum age to purchase a gun to 21. This prohibition also affects 18-year-olds with a hunting license. Florida needs to return to allowing 18-year-olds to purchase firearms. There is not a minimum age to purchase a gun in the 2nd Amendment. I Support Constitutional Carry. A person should not have to pay a licensing fee to exercise their 2nd Amendment! If Florida law markers refuse to pass a constitutional carry bill, Florida lawmakers should at least reduce the criminal penalty for carrying a concealed firearm from a felony to a misdemeanor if the person is permitted to own the firearm and the individual is not using the firearm in the course of a crime. Repeal Biden's Gun Restrictions If elected, I will sponsor a bill to repeal President's Biden's prohibition on the transfer of firearms without a gun broker.
Like you, nothing makes me angrier than self-serving politicians who care more about enriching themselves than serving our country. President Trump was right for wanting to know the Biden crime family's financial ties to Ukraine, and the corrupt Democrats wrongly impeached him for it. Pelosi has amassed over a 100 million from investments she refuses to consider insider trading. Hunter Biden's ugly paintings are clearly a pay-to-play bribe laundering scheme, and every art appraiser knows it! Hillary lied about Benghazi, and she used the Hillary Foundation to launder bribes. Corruption that lurks on the borders of legality is hard to prosecute, but fighting it starts with politicians who are not afraid to call it out! I will call it out when I see it.
Fraud and loss of confidence in our elections is an existential threat to our Republic. Vote-by-mail or absentee ballots must include an objective verification method like a state I.D. number included on the ballot or, less preferably, a subjective verification method like a signature. Unrequested mail ballots should never be sent out to every registered voter, like some states did in the 2020 Presidential election. Mass mailing ballots to the void inevitably increases the risk of fraud. The chain of custody problems with mail ballots can be reduced by ending reliance on USPS and other mail carriers to deliver the ballots and instead require monitored drop boxes to deposit the absentee ballot. Voting in person must require a state or federal I.D. to identify the voter.[2] |
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| —Justin Waters' campaign website (2022)[3] | ||
See also
2022 Elections
External links
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Candidate U.S. House Florida District 3 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 29, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Justin J. Waters for Congress, “Values,” accessed August 17, 2022
