Deep Dive with Shawn

Retaking the House (and Democracy) with Florida House Candidate Josh Weil

• Sea Tree Media

Share episode

Josh Weil, Democratic candidate for Florida's 6th Congressional District, joins Deep Dive to discuss what could be one of the most consequential special elections in American history. A public school teacher and single father, Weil explains why his April 1st race represents more than just a local contest – it's potentially the first domino in Democrats' path to regaining control of the House.

With Republicans currently holding the slimmest House majority in historical memory, the stakes couldn't be higher. Weil articulates how flipping a seat that went Republican by 32 points would send shockwaves through the GOP, demonstrating that there is no job security from Donald Trump's endorsement. This message could fundamentally alter how Republican representatives approach their roles, forcing them to be more responsive to constituents rather than blindly following party leadership.

What makes Weil's campaign particularly fascinating is his embrace of progressive policies in a traditionally conservative district. He challenges conventional wisdom about Democratic messaging, arguing that the party has failed in messaging for over a decade while offering concrete examples of missed opportunities to connect with working-class voters. Weil doesn't hold back criticism of his own party, particularly Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's inability to extract concessions during recent negotiations, demonstrating his commitment to honest assessment over partisan loyalty.

The conversation weaves between local campaign strategy and national implications, highlighting how special elections occurring outside the typical cycle allow candidates to focus more directly on constituent concerns. As Weil puts it, drawing from his 13 years teaching in Title I schools.

Whether you're in Florida's 6th district or simply concerned about the future of American democracy, this episode provides critical context for understanding what's at stake on April 1st.

Josh Weil for Congress

Gay Valimont for Congress

Vote in Florida

-------------------------
Follow Deep Dive:
Bluesky
YouTube

Email: deepdivewithshawn@gmail.com

Music:
Majestic Earth - Joystock



Josh:

We're seeing congressmen across the country having, you know, these town halls that they're being run out of. We're seeing incredible heat from their constituents. We're seeing a lot of unhappiness due to the direct economic impact you know, obviously negative impact from the moves out of the White House and from this new Doge department, from the moves out of the White House and from this new Doge department and you know they're barely hanging on. But you know these congressmen are pretty confident that as long as they have Donald Trump's election, their jobs are secure next November. And taking this seat, this type of flip is going to let them all know that there is no job security from Donald Trump's endorsement, that you must be responsible to your constituents, you must be serving and representing them, not your party and not Donald Trump.

Shawn:

Welcome to Deep Dive with me, s C Fettig, in a critical moment for American democracy. There will be five special elections for House seats in the near future and if Democrats win them all, they can take control of the House from Republicans. Two of those elections are happening in Florida on Tuesday, april 1st, and they've drawn national attention due to their potential to shift the political landscape and provide a check on President Donald Trump's administration. Democratic victories in both Florida races in April and then taking the remaining three election dates TBD, two of which are locks for Democrats. The shift in the House would significantly hobble the ability of the Republican-controlled Congress to advance Trump's agenda, undercutting his single-minded focus on dismantling American democracy.

Shawn:

My guest today is one of those candidates. Josh Weil is a public school teacher, single father and the Democrat running in Florida's 6th District. Weil's campaign focuses on education, funding, inflation relief and representing the interests of all constituents, regardless of their party. Josh and I talk about the shape that Trump's America is taking, the stakes in this election, his vision for the Democratic Party and for American democracy. If Chuck Schumer is the leader in the Senate that Democrats need, and what it takes to win over Trump voters, all right, if you like this episode or any episode, please give it a like, share and follow on your favorite podcast platform and or subscribe to the podcast on YouTube. And, as always, if you have any thoughts, questions or comments, please feel free to email me at deepdivewithshawn at gmailcom. Let's do a deep dive, josh. Thanks for being here. How are you Great, thank you. Thank you for having me so well. How much sleep are you getting these days? Sleep.

Josh:

We'll sleep in April.

Shawn:

Yeah, Okay, Fair enough. So I don't want to overstate this, but it truly is a fact that the special election in Florida's 6th on April 1st is one of the most important elections in our lifetime. And while this seat, which is vacated by Republican Mike Waltz, and the other Florida special election that will be held on the 1st and Florida's 1st, which was vacated by Matt Gaetz probably a name a lot of listeners know won't offer the opportunity for Democrats to flip the House, but wins for Democrats in these two elections could narrow the margin to literally a one-seat majority for Republicans, and I'm sure you're already hearing this that your election may be an early bellwether of the country's initial feelings about the Trump presidency. How do you feel about this characterization and what are the stakes in this election?

Josh:

Yeah, and it's unfortunate. We had an opportunity to take back the House but unfortunately, due to the untimely passing earlier this month of two representatives Sylvester Taylor and Raul Grialba were two seats further back those special elections in very safe blue districts over the summer will, depending on what happens here on April 1st, can and will take back the House this year. We also have one more later in New York. But, yeah, it's the tightest margin that any majority party has ever had in the history of our nation and I really think that these are even more about more than just being about closing that margin or taking the House right now. You know we're about to flip a seat that went to the Republican by 32 points in November and that type of unprecedented turnaround is going to send a resounding call across the nation, particularly to Republican electeds.

Josh:

We're seeing congressmen across the country having these town halls that they're being run out of. We're seeing incredible heat from their constituents. We're seeing a lot of unhappiness due to the direct economic impact obviously negative impact from the moves out of the White House and from this new Doge department, and they're barely hanging on. But you know these congressmen are pretty confident that as long as they have Donald Trump's election. Their jobs are secure next November and taking this seat, this type of flip, is going to let them all know that there is no job security from Donald Trump's endorsement, that you must be responsible to your constituents, you must be serving and representing them, not your party and not Donald Trump, and I think that's going to change everything in the House over these next two years.

Shawn:

So this election is going to play out in a very different landscape than the one in November, and that does suggest that the way that representatives and I'm much more concerned about how Democrats run off or off it's going to change how you would run now than you would have maybe perhaps last November, in which Republicans ended up securing control of both houses of Congress again, as you mentioned, in the House with a very slim margin and also the presidency. So how are you running your campaign that captures the moment that we're living through now? That might be different than how you would have run for the seat in November of last year.

Josh:

Well, you know, anyone running last November you know was part of a much bigger ticket, right, you were part of. You know the main race was Donald Trump versus Kamala Harris. That was driving voter turnout. That was driving perception on which party people wanted in power. Particularly when you're looking at independent and MPA voters Right now, there is no other name on the ballot right. It's going to be me or Randy Fine.

Josh:

People are choosing based on a lot more than just their parties. You know we have a candidate in my Republican opponent who is committed to running to serve Donald Trump, whereas I am running to serve the people we have a whole new presidential administration and for a lot of people here, even if they voted for Donald Trump, even if they supported Donald Trump wanting to ensure that their local needs are considered that there is. If you think that Donald Trump's policies are best for the nation, do you have and do you need someone here making sure that they are voting for what is best for you, because they want both things right. It's not wholesale Just because something is best overall for the country. If you believe that doesn't mean that it's best for people in Palatka doesn't mean that it's best for people in Daytona doesn't mean that it's best for people in Palm Coast. So there's a lot of that. There's also, you know, early unhappiness. People were voting for change based on where we were economically after four years under Joe Biden. You know, normally you would say that, well, we haven't even been out of Trump's first hundred days. How much could he have done? I mean, he's done more in these last two months than some presidents did in their entire four years. There's there's a lot to go off of and there's been a lot of immediate, direct impact. So, you know, we get to run a race that's really about character and values. We get to run a race that is, you know, more solely focused on us as the two candidates, without an upper down ballot driving people or swaying people.

Josh:

There isn't a ticket here that people are choosing and voting for and, in addition, you know we really get to run and handle this thing. You know this is our campaign and we are driving it on the ground. We're making sure that we have an incredible field team out there. We're making sure that, you know, we're not relying on television although we're on television but we're relying on real face-to-face contact with voters. We're relying on real conversations, voters having the opportunity to speak to someone, look them in the eyes and know that this is real.

Josh:

We're not just sending them messages over the TV and that's a big difference. You know we're playing. This is a ground game and we're running on progressive values as well. We're running on progressive policies that you know when there's a lot more people involved and it's a larger party platform that you don't get the opportunity to really focus on, and we've been told from the national party and from national media that progressive policies don't play in districts like this, and we have an opportunity to really show how wrong that is. We have an opportunity to make a huge victory as a progressive in a place where people didn't think it was possible. That can really help redefine how the Democratic Party messages itself moving forward.

Shawn:

One of the narratives about the election results last November is that Democrats have failed in speaking to the public, to really grasping concerns of the average American, and also that one of the strategies that was employed by Democrats is that the election was an existential battle between authoritarianism and democracy and that in retrospect, that that just didn't really land with the public. And yet here we are, as you've mentioned, in a period of time in which that threat actually it's a bit more tangible now. So if a candidate like yourself were to cast a campaign or an election in that same light now, that that might carry more weight than it did in November. But I don't want to spend too much time retrospectively dissecting this because it doesn't really matter to your campaign, but I do think it does inform, maybe a proactive approach. So I guess I'm just wondering very quickly do you agree that we are in an existential moment now between authoritarianism and democracy and how do you agree that we are in an existential moment now between authoritarianism and democracy and how do you explain that election outcome?

Josh:

We absolutely are, and you know messaging is a huge part of it. Democrats have failed in messaging in a major way over the past 10, 15 years, and you know this is something that I speak about when we're out in public and I talk to voters, and whether it's Republicans or Democrats, I mean the fact that you're putting it as you know, that last November was between authoritarian and democracy. Many Republican voters felt like they were voting for democracy over authoritarianism when they chose Donald Trump, and now they are seeing something completely opposite. Although this was telegraphed months ahead, right, there was no surprise in Project 2025. All of this was out there well before the election and you know that really comes down to messaging that they were able to convince people that what they were seeing wasn't real and we weren't able to convince people that reality was real.

Josh:

One of the examples I like to use is you know, when we talk about labor, we've failed in messaging on labor so badly for so long. If you go out to any voter in the country, regardless of what party or how they lean right, and you say to them we have two major parties in this country. One of them is the party that is most closely tied to big corporations and billionaires, and one of them is the party that's most closely tied to labor unions, which is which it doesn't matter if they're Republican, democrat or independent. They're gonna know which ones you're talking about. And yet working people across this country go into the voting polls and, even if they know that they know which party is supported by labor unions, they know which party is supported by corporations and billionaires, that the Republican Party is the one with their best interest in mind.

Josh:

And we have got to. We need them to feel that Democrats are the ones for the working people, that we are the party of the working people, that we are the party of labor. And that's messaging. And you know the fact that we had two whole years of a Biden-controlled White House, with a Democratic majority in the Senate and the House, and we did not pass the PRO Act, which would have been one of the strongest labor bills that has come through, one of the strongest federal legislation for labor and workers in decades is. There's no one to blame but ourselves. We had the power and we didn't use it in ways that we're seeing the Republicans use it right now, when they have the exact same level of power.

Shawn:

So another narrative is that Democrats are in the wilderness right now, and I think a really good example, a recent example, is how the vote for the continuing resolution, the CR, played out last week. That avoided a shutdown, but it exposed a rift between at least House and Senate Democrats, and particularly Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who's taking a lot of heat right now, as he should. Okay, well, I guess that kind of speaks to the question, which is how can Democrats and how are you then reaching out to disaffected voters? That might be more effective than the strategy that Democrats employed in last year's election, and what do you think Democrats can and should be?

Josh:

Look, if the Republicans, as we just mentioned, have control of the House, the Senate and the White House, there are very few times or opportunities where they need any votes from the Democrats. They are operating from a position of absolute power. When they have absolute power, they have no need to negotiate. On those rare moments when they require Democratic votes, we have to have to bring them to the table to negotiate with us. They have to negotiate and make concessions for our votes. The fact that they refuse to and our Democratic leadership in the Senate still cave, was unacceptable, unacceptable. You cannot be allowing them, in those rare moments when they need you, to have you for free.

Josh:

That's not how any of this works and you know someone someone pointed it out online that you know it appears. It appears that you know Republicans' biggest concern is, you know what Republican voters think about their actions and that Democrats' biggest concerns is what Republican voters think about their actions, and it's hard to argue with that. You know we need to serve all Americans and we need to start by ensuring that we are not betraying our base, because losing our base is how we lose big elections like last November. You know you have to secure your base and expand from there, and leadership is just not doing that right now.

Shawn:

So this is maybe just an observation and a little bit of inside baseball, but I think one of the things that was particularly shocking is that this didn't have to be a zero sum game. The continuing resolution. There really was an opportunity for Democrats to at least negotiate some concessions, and it doesn't seem like that happened at all. So what do you think happened? I mean, you're running for a seat in the House and the House held the line right. It was the Senate, that kind of broke, but what do you think happened there and what's the potential ramifications of it?

Josh:

I mean, look, I think that we do not have strong leadership in the Senate and I think we have an abundance of evidence at this point that it's true. You know, when Chuck Schumer took over as majority leader, he came in criticizing Mitch McConnell for all of the Democratic sponsored bills that never made it off of his desk and never got introduced or up for vote, because McConnell had control over that. But then Chuck Schumer never introduced those same bills as well. You know, we've seen it from Nancy Pelosi. Whether you love her or hate her, nancy Pelosi is very good at her job. Nancy Pelosi makes sure that she got done everything she needed to get done. Whether we liked all of those things or not, if she needed to get them done, she got them done.

Josh:

And there is no one out there who feels that way about Chuck Schumer as our leader in the Senate, which is a problem, you know. It's not to say that he hasn't been a successful senator. It's not to say that he doesn't have good values, but he has been ineffective in the top leadership position in the most powerful legislative body in the world, and we can't abide that any longer. The stakes are too high right now for us to continue to sit back with ineffective leadership, completely missing on major opportunities like the ones we just highlighted.

Shawn:

So final question, and one I'm sure you've never gotten before why should folks in your district vote for you, and what can your district expect from you if you are elected to represent them in Congress in April?

Josh:

So the way I like to put it is you know, I'm a public school teacher. I've spent 13 years working in Title I schools. In public schools we don't choose which kids we serve, right. We don't just serve the easy ones, we don't just serve the ones that are like us. You know, I come from a math and science background, working in school leadership the last three years. We don't just make sure that our math and science scores are good and ignore reading and social studies scores. We work for everything every kid, every family. We make sure that they're taken care of, that their needs are met, that they're getting everything they can out of our school. And that's exactly the type of philosophy and mindset that we should have from our elective leaders.

Josh:

Now, I'm not here to serve party leadership. I'm not here to hold the line on you know party line on a vote or an issue If it's in contrast to what is best for my district here. I'm here to represent the people of District 6. And you know what? Sometimes that's going to mean voting for or supporting legislation brought about by the Republicans, and I feel confident that far more often they'll be best served by what we're doing out of the Democratic Party, but I'm here to serve them, and that's how it should be. I think that we need more representatives who are serving their constituents than we do one serving their party.

Shawn:

Josh, thanks for taking the time for the sake of the country. Good luck. Thank you so much.

Shawn:

It's clear that the upcoming special elections in Florida's 1st and 6th districts are more than just local races.

Shawn:

They're potential game changers for the entire nation. With the balance of power in the House hanging by a thread, literally every vote counts. These elections could be the key to restoring checks and balances in our government and safeguarding our democratic institutions, and my discussion with Josh Weil should make starkly clear why these elections in Florida on April 1st could be the most important elections in American history. To our listeners in Florida's first and sixth districts, your vote has never been more important, so make your voice heard on April 1st. There are some links in the show notes with information about how to vote in these districts and for all of our listeners inside and outside of Florida. There are also some links to the candidate websites, including Josh Wiles, of course, if you want to support Donating money, spreading the message, getting out the vote, however, you want to get involved to take back the house and, with it, american democracy. All right, check back next week for another episode of Deep Dive Chat soon, folks. Thank you, thank you, you.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Shawn C. Fettig

Host