Republican Joe Kaufman to Challenge in Florida's New 25th District After Close 2024 Loss

Joe Kaufman knows what it's like to lose a close race in a historically Democratic district. In the 2024 election cycle, he ran in the closest congressional race in Florida, narrowly losing in the 23rd District to incumbent Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., a two-term congressman who has sought to build a moderate profile.

Florida has completed its redistricting process. This time, Kaufman is confident he can win despite Republican headwinds.

Kaufman confirmed to Fox News Digital that he will run in the new 25th District in 2026. It remains unclear who his opponent will be or if he faces a primary challenger.

Moskowitz said Monday that if he runs, it will be in the 25th District. Incumbent Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., who would seek her 12th term in Congress, also appears to be considering the same district.

Kaufman brings a battle-tested strategy after his near-victory in 2024.

"Yes, we had 48% of the vote. It was the closest race in all of Florida and the highest percentage of any Republican to ever run for that seat. But back then, I got in very late in the game and this time around our numbers are much better, and we've been able to form those coalitions that we needed to last time. We've done that now, and I will win this seat this time."

Kaufman calls himself a "terrorist hunter" with strong foreign policy credentials.

"I do counter-terrorism research, writing and lectures," he said. He added that he has been involved in "the shutdown of terrorist charities and the imprisonment of terror-related individuals. Recently, I led the shutdown of a pro-Hamas conference that was to take place in Coral Springs, and the organizers, including CAIR and the South Florida Muslim Federation, they were upset, so they sued me and the Marriott Corporation in federal court. They sued us not once, but twice and I'm proud to say that we won not once, but twice."

On foreign policy, he said, "I've been very involved these past few years in what's been taking place. 17 years ago, I was honored to co-found a group called Cyrus Force with his majesty, Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who we believe is going to be soon to be a future leader of Iran."

Despite his hawkish stance, Kaufman opposes putting U.S. troops on the ground in Iran.

"No, I don't support ground troops, at least not from the United States. I don't want to see what took place in wars past happen here with seeing Americans come back in body bags. I feel the same way about our friends in Israel. But there are third parties that want to get involved, and I say, give them the green light to do so. So, if there's any ground troops…they shouldn't be from America or Israel. It should be from these third parties."

Kaufman supports vocational training in high schools and criticizes the Affordable Care Act.

"Well, for one thing, I support putting vocational training in all of the high schools in America. And it's a project I want to initiate as a congressman. Too many kids today are staying home with their parents after they graduate high school. They need to have real job skills so they could make money, get out of their parents' homes, be able to have their own families, and eventually, purchase their own house of their own."

"Also, I don't like the Affordable Care Act. It was never affordable. It's been taking hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies, thanks to the Democrats. And I think we need a new health care system that costs the American government less and costs the American taxpayer less and better quality. And I think we could have that without Obamacare."

Historically, the party of the incumbent president loses seats in midterm elections most of the time. In what many see as a tough year for Republicans, Kaufman points to the current engagement in Iran and lingering Biden-era inflation as challenges.

"Well, a lot of it has to do with the war overseas, but I believe that that's going to be short term. I think that's, that's going to end soon. Also, with regards to inflation, we're still dealing with the Biden years where Joe Biden initiated very heavy inflation for our country. And thank you, President Trump, for doing the things that would bring inflation down. So I'm looking forward to low inflation, better affordability and very soon an end to the war, and results overseas that allow us to have peace in the Middle East and more peace in world."

Kaufman says the Democratic Party is fundamentally broken, and Republicans can win on messaging in 2026.

"Well, the Democrats, they've allowed people, an untold amount of people, to cross our borders, some of which have been terrorists and members of terror cells. They've hurt the values in the United States. They've destroyed our healthcare system with an Affordable Care Act that was never affordable. They've done everything possible to destroy our nation, and we need to make that change."