March 23, 2025 • 22 mins
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.
-------------------------
Follow Deep Dive:
Bluesky
YouTube
Email: deepdivewithshawn@gmail.com
Music:
Majestic Earth - Joystock
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Josh (00:00):
We're seeing congressmen across the country having, you
know, these town halls thatthey're being run out of.
We're seeing incredible heatfrom their constituents.
We're seeing a lot ofunhappiness due to the direct
economic impact you know,obviously negative impact from
(00:20):
the moves out of the White Houseand from this new Doge
department, from the moves outof the White House and from this
new Doge department and youknow they're barely hanging on.
But you know these congressmenare pretty confident that as
long as they have Donald Trump'selection, their jobs are secure
next November.
And taking this seat, this typeof flip is going to let them
(00:44):
all know that there is no jobsecurity from Donald Trump's
endorsement, that you must beresponsible to your constituents
, you must be serving andrepresenting them, not your
party and not Donald Trump.
Shawn (01:06):
Welcome to Deep Dive with me, s C Fettig, in a critical
moment for American democracy.
There will be five specialelections for House seats in the
near future and if Democratswin them all, they can take
control of the House fromRepublicans.
Two of those elections arehappening in Florida on Tuesday,
april 1st, and they've drawnnational attention due to their
(01:30):
potential to shift the politicallandscape and provide a check
on President Donald Trump'sadministration.
Democratic victories in bothFlorida races in April and then
taking the remaining threeelection dates TBD, two of which
are locks for Democrats.
The shift in the House wouldsignificantly hobble the ability
of the Republican-controlledCongress to advance Trump's
(01:53):
agenda, undercutting hissingle-minded focus on
dismantling American democracy.
My guest today is one of thosecandidates.
Josh Weil is a public schoolteacher, single father and the
Democrat running in Florida's6th District.
Weil's campaign focuses oneducation, funding, inflation
relief and representing theinterests of all constituents,
(02:16):
regardless of their party.
Josh and I talk about the shapethat 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 leaderin the Senate that Democrats
need, and what it takes to winover Trump voters, all right, if
you like this episode or anyepisode, please give it a like,
(02:38):
share and follow on yourfavorite podcast platform and or
subscribe to the podcast onYouTube.
And, as always, if you have anythoughts, questions or comments
, please feel free to email meat deepdivewithshawn at gmailcom
.
Let's do a deep dive, josh.
(03:01):
Thanks for being here.
How are you Great, thank you.
Thank you for having me so well.
How much sleep are you gettingthese days?
Sleep.
Josh (03:10):
We'll sleep in April.
Shawn (03:11):
Yeah, Okay, Fair enough.
So I don't want to overstatethis, but it truly is a fact
that the special election inFlorida's 6th on April 1st is
one of the most importantelections in our lifetime.
And while this seat, which isvacated by Republican Mike Waltz
, and the other Florida specialelection that will be held on
the 1st and Florida's 1st, whichwas vacated by Matt Gaetz
probably a name a lot oflisteners know won't offer the
(03:33):
opportunity for Democrats toflip the House, but wins for
Democrats in these two electionscould narrow the margin to
literally a one-seat majorityfor Republicans, and I'm sure
you're already hearing this thatyour election may be an early
bellwether of the country'sinitial feelings about the Trump
presidency.
How do you feel about thischaracterization and what are
the stakes in this election?
Josh (03:54):
Yeah, and it's unfortunate .
We had an opportunity to takeback the House but unfortunately
, due to the untimely passingearlier this month of two
representatives Sylvester Taylorand Raul Grialba were two seats
further back those specialelections in very safe blue
districts over the summer will,depending on what happens here
(04:14):
on April 1st, can and will takeback the House this year.
We also have one more later inNew York.
But, yeah, it's the tightestmargin that any majority party
has ever had in the history ofour nation and I really think
that these are even more aboutmore than just being about
(04:35):
closing that margin or takingthe House right now.
You know we're about to flip aseat that went to the Republican
by 32 points in November andthat type of unprecedented
turnaround is going to send aresounding call across the
nation, particularly toRepublican electeds.
(04:57):
We're seeing congressmen acrossthe country having these town
halls that they're being run outof.
We're seeing incredible heatfrom their constituents.
We're seeing a lot ofunhappiness due to the direct
economic impact obviouslynegative impact from the moves
(05:18):
out of the White House and fromthis new Doge department, and
they're barely hanging on.
But you know these congressmenare pretty confident that as
long as they have Donald Trump'selection.
Their jobs are secure nextNovember and taking this seat,
this type of flip, is going tolet them all know that there is
(05:43):
no job security from DonaldTrump's endorsement, that you
must be responsible to yourconstituents, you must be
serving and representing them,not your party and not Donald
Trump, and I think that's goingto change everything in the
House over these next two years.
Shawn (06:02):
So this election is going to play out in a very different
landscape than the one inNovember, and that does suggest
that the way thatrepresentatives and I'm much
more concerned about howDemocrats run off or off it's
going to change how you wouldrun now than you would have
maybe perhaps last November, inwhich Republicans ended up
securing control of both housesof Congress again, as you
mentioned, in the House with avery slim margin and also the
(06:29):
presidency.
So how are you running yourcampaign that captures the
moment that we're living throughnow?
That might be different thanhow you would have run for the
seat in November of last year.
Josh (06:34):
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 wasDonald Trump versus Kamala
Harris.
That was driving voter turnout.
That was driving perception onwhich party people wanted in
(06:57):
power.
Particularly when you'relooking at independent and MPA
voters Right now, there is noother name on the ballot right.
It's going to be me or RandyFine.
People are choosing based on alot more than just their parties
.
You know we have a candidate inmy Republican opponent who is
(07:18):
committed to running to serveDonald Trump, whereas I am
running to serve the people wehave a whole new presidential
administration and for a lot ofpeople here, even if they voted
for Donald Trump, even if theysupported Donald Trump wanting
to ensure that their local needsare considered that there is.
(07:40):
If you think that DonaldTrump's policies are best for
the nation, do you have and doyou need someone here making
sure that they are voting forwhat is best for you, because
they want both things right.
It's not wholesale Just becausesomething is best overall for
the country.
If you believe that doesn'tmean that it's best for people
(08:03):
in Palatka doesn't mean thatit's best for people in Daytona
doesn't mean that it's best forpeople in Palm Coast.
So there's a lot of that.
There's also, you know, earlyunhappiness.
People were voting for changebased on where we were
economically after four yearsunder Joe Biden.
You know, normally you wouldsay that, well, we haven't even
(08:25):
been out of Trump's firsthundred days.
How much could he have done?
I mean, he's done more in theselast two months than some
presidents did in their entirefour years.
There's there's a lot to go offof and there's been a lot of
immediate, direct impact.
So, you know, we get to run arace that's really about
(08:46):
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.
There isn't a ticket here thatpeople are choosing and voting
for and, in addition, you knowwe really get to run and handle
(09:07):
this thing.
You know this is our campaignand we are driving it on the
ground.
We're making sure that we havean incredible field team out
there.
We're making sure that, youknow, we're not relying on
television although we're ontelevision but we're relying on
real face-to-face contact withvoters.
We're relying on realconversations, voters having the
(09:28):
opportunity to speak to someone, look them in the eyes and know
that this is real.
We're not just sending themmessages over the TV and that's
a big difference.
You know we're playing.
This is a ground game and we'rerunning on progressive values
(09:48):
as well.
We're running on progressivepolicies that you know when
there's a lot more peopleinvolved and it's a larger party
platform that you don't get theopportunity to really focus on,
and we've been told from thenational party and from national
media that progressive policiesdon't play in districts like
(10:08):
this, and we have an opportunityto really show how wrong that
is.
We have an opportunity to makea huge victory as a progressive
in a place where people didn'tthink it was possible.
That can really help redefinehow the Democratic Party
messages itself moving forward.
Shawn (10:26):
One of the narratives about the election results last
November is that Democrats havefailed in speaking to the public
, to really grasping concerns ofthe average American, and also
that one of the strategies thatwas employed by Democrats is
that the election was anexistential battle between
authoritarianism and democracyand that in retrospect, that
(10:47):
that just didn't really landwith the public.
And yet here we are, as you'vementioned, in a period of time
in which that threat actuallyit's a bit more tangible now.
So if a candidate like yourselfwere 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 toomuch time retrospectively
(11:07):
dissecting this because itdoesn't really matter to your
campaign, but I do think it doesinform, maybe a proactive
approach.
So I guess I'm just wonderingvery quickly do you agree that
we are in an existential momentnow between authoritarianism and
democracy and how do you agreethat we are in an existential
moment now betweenauthoritarianism and democracy
and how do you explain thatelection outcome?
Josh (11:24):
We absolutely are, and you know messaging is a huge part
of it.
Democrats have failed inmessaging in a major way over
the past 10, 15 years, and youknow this is something that I
speak about when we're out inpublic and I talk to voters, and
whether it's Republicans orDemocrats, I mean the fact that
(11:44):
you're putting it as you know,that last November was between
authoritarian and democracy.
Many Republican voters feltlike they were voting for
democracy over authoritarianismwhen they chose Donald Trump,
and now they are seeingsomething completely opposite.
Although this was telegraphedmonths ahead, right, there was
(12:06):
no surprise in Project 2025.
All of this was out there wellbefore the election and you know
that really comes down tomessaging that they were able to
convince people that what theywere seeing wasn't real and we
weren't able to convince peoplethat reality was real.
One of the examples I like touse is you know, when we talk
(12:27):
about labor, we've failed inmessaging on labor so badly for
so long.
If you go out to any voter inthe 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 thatis most closely tied to big
corporations and billionaires,and one of them is the party
(12:49):
that's most closely tied tolabor unions, which is which it
doesn't matter if they'reRepublican, democrat or
independent.
They're gonna know which onesyou're talking about.
And yet working people acrossthis country go into the voting
polls and, even if they knowthat they know which party is
supported by labor unions, theyknow which party is supported by
corporations and billionaires,that the Republican Party is the
(13:15):
one with their best interest inmind.
And we have got to.
We need them to feel thatDemocrats are the ones for the
working people, that we are theparty of the working people,
that we are the party of labor.
And that's messaging.
And you know the fact that wehad two whole years of a
(13:36):
Biden-controlled White House,with a Democratic majority in
the Senate and the House, and wedid not pass the PRO Act, which
would have been one of thestrongest labor bills that has
come through, one of thestrongest federal legislation
for labor and workers in decadesis.
There's no one to blame butourselves.
(13:57):
We had the power and we didn'tuse it in ways that we're seeing
the Republicans use it rightnow, when they have the exact
same level of power.
Shawn (14:06):
So another narrative is that Democrats are in the
wilderness right now, and Ithink a really good example, a
recent example, is how the votefor the continuing resolution,
the CR, played out last week.
That avoided a shutdown, but itexposed a rift between at least
House and Senate Democrats, andparticularly Minority Leader
Chuck Schumer, who's taking alot of heat right now, as he
should.
Okay, well, I guess that kindof speaks to the question, which
(14:29):
is how can Democrats and howare you then reaching out to
disaffected voters?
That might be more effectivethan the strategy that Democrats
employed in last year'selection, and what do you think
Democrats can and should be?
Josh (14:43):
Look, if the Republicans, as we just mentioned, have
control of the House, the Senateand the White House, there are
very few times or opportunitieswhere they need any votes from
the Democrats.
They are operating from aposition of absolute power.
When they have absolute power,they have no need to negotiate.
On those rare moments when theyrequire Democratic votes, we
(15:08):
have to have to bring them tothe table to negotiate with us.
They have to negotiate and makeconcessions for our votes.
The fact that they refuse toand our Democratic leadership in
the Senate still cave, wasunacceptable, unacceptable.
You cannot be allowing them, inthose rare moments when they
(15:30):
need you, to have you for free.
That's not how any of this worksand you know someone someone
pointed it out online that youknow it appears.
It appears that you knowRepublicans' biggest concern is,
you know what Republican votersthink about their actions and
that Democrats' biggest concernsis what Republican voters think
about their actions, and it'shard to argue with that.
(15:52):
You know we need to serve allAmericans and we need to start
by ensuring that we are notbetraying our base, because
losing our base is how we losebig elections like last November
.
You know you have to secureyour base and expand from there,
and leadership is just notdoing that right now.
Shawn (16:13):
So this is maybe just an observation and a little bit of
inside baseball, but I think oneof the things that was
particularly shocking is thatthis didn't have to be a zero
sum game.
The continuing resolution.
There really was an opportunityfor Democrats to at least
negotiate some concessions, andit doesn't seem like that
happened at all.
So what do you think happened?
I mean, you're running for aseat in the House and the House
(16:34):
held the line right.
It was the Senate, that kind ofbroke, but what do you think
happened there and what's thepotential ramifications of it?
Josh (16:40):
I mean, look, I think that we do not have strong
leadership in the Senate and Ithink we have an abundance of
evidence at this point that it'strue.
You know, when Chuck Schumertook over as majority leader, he
came in criticizing MitchMcConnell for all of the
Democratic sponsored bills thatnever made it off of his desk
(17:02):
and never got introduced or upfor vote, because McConnell had
control over that.
But then Chuck Schumer neverintroduced those same bills as
well.
You know, we've seen it fromNancy Pelosi.
Whether you love her or hateher, nancy Pelosi is very good
at her job.
Nancy Pelosi makes sure thatshe got done everything she
needed to get done.
(17:23):
Whether we liked all of thosethings or not, if she needed to
get them done, she got them done.
And there is no one out therewho feels that way about Chuck
Schumer as our leader in theSenate, which is a problem, you
know.
It's not to say that he hasn'tbeen a successful senator.
It's not to say that he doesn'thave good values, but he has
(17:43):
been ineffective in the topleadership position in the most
powerful legislative body in theworld, and we can't abide that
any longer.
The stakes are too high rightnow for us to continue to sit
back with ineffective leadership, completely missing on major
opportunities like the ones wejust highlighted.
Shawn (18:04):
So final question, and one I'm sure you've never gotten
before why should folks in yourdistrict vote for you, and what
can your district expect fromyou if you are elected to
represent them in Congress inApril?
Josh (18:15):
So the way I like to put it is you know, I'm a public
school teacher.
I've spent 13 years working inTitle I schools.
In public schools we don'tchoose which kids we serve,
right.
We don't just serve the easyones, we don't just serve the
ones that are like us.
You know, I come from a mathand science background, working
in school leadership the lastthree years.
We don't just make sure thatour math and science scores are
(18:37):
good and ignore reading andsocial studies scores.
We work for everything everykid, every family.
We make sure that they're takencare of, that their needs are
met, that they're gettingeverything they can out of our
school.
And that's exactly the type ofphilosophy and mindset that we
should have from our electiveleaders.
Now, I'm not here to serve partyleadership.
(18:57):
I'm not here to hold the lineon you know party line on a vote
or an issue If it's in contrastto what is best for my district
here.
I'm here to represent thepeople of District 6.
And you know what?
Sometimes that's going to meanvoting for or supporting
legislation brought about by theRepublicans, and I feel
(19:18):
confident that far more oftenthey'll be best served by what
we're doing out of theDemocratic Party, but I'm here
to serve them, and that's how itshould be.
I think that we need morerepresentatives who are serving
their constituents than we doone serving their party.
Shawn (19:37):
Josh, thanks for taking the time for the sake of the
country.
Good luck.
Thank you so much.
It's clear that the upcomingspecial elections in Florida's
1st and 6th districts are morethan just local races.
They're potential game changersfor the entire nation.
(19:59):
With the balance of power inthe House hanging by a thread,
literally every vote counts.
These elections could be thekey to restoring checks and
balances in our government andsafeguarding our democratic
institutions, and my discussionwith Josh Weil should make
starkly clear why theseelections in Florida on April
(20:19):
1st could be the most importantelections in American history.
To our listeners in Florida'sfirst and sixth districts, your
vote has never been moreimportant, so make your voice
heard on April 1st.
There are some links in theshow notes with information
about how to vote in thesedistricts and for all of our
listeners inside and outside ofFlorida.
There are also some links tothe candidate websites,
(20:42):
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 takeback the house and, with it,
american democracy.
All right, check back next weekfor another episode of Deep
Dive Chat soon, folks.
Thank you, thank you, you.
We're seeing congressmen across the country having, you
know, these town halls thatthey're being run out of.
We're seeing incredible heatfrom their constituents.
We're seeing a lot ofunhappiness due to the direct
economic impact you know,obviously negative impact from
(00:20):
the moves out of the White Houseand from this new Doge
department, from the moves outof the White House and from this
new Doge department and youknow they're barely hanging on.
But you know these congressmenare pretty confident that as
long as they have Donald Trump'selection, their jobs are secure
next November.
And taking this seat, this typeof flip is going to let them
(00:44):
all know that there is no jobsecurity from Donald Trump's
endorsement, that you must beresponsible to your constituents
, you must be serving andrepresenting them, not your
party and not Donald Trump.
Shawn (01:06):
Welcome to Deep Dive with me, s C Fettig, in a critical
moment for American democracy.
There will be five specialelections for House seats in the
near future and if Democratswin them all, they can take
control of the House fromRepublicans.
Two of those elections arehappening in Florida on Tuesday,
april 1st, and they've drawnnational attention due to their
(01:30):
potential to shift the politicallandscape and provide a check
on President Donald Trump'sadministration.
Democratic victories in bothFlorida races in April and then
taking the remaining threeelection dates TBD, two of which
are locks for Democrats.
The shift in the House wouldsignificantly hobble the ability
of the Republican-controlledCongress to advance Trump's
(01:53):
agenda, undercutting hissingle-minded focus on
dismantling American democracy.
My guest today is one of thosecandidates.
Josh Weil is a public schoolteacher, single father and the
Democrat running in Florida's6th District.
Weil's campaign focuses oneducation, funding, inflation
relief and representing theinterests of all constituents,
(02:16):
regardless of their party.
Josh and I talk about the shapethat 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 leaderin the Senate that Democrats
need, and what it takes to winover Trump voters, all right, if
you like this episode or anyepisode, please give it a like,
(02:38):
share and follow on yourfavorite podcast platform and or
subscribe to the podcast onYouTube.
And, as always, if you have anythoughts, questions or comments
, please feel free to email meat deepdivewithshawn at gmailcom
.
Let's do a deep dive, josh.
(03:01):
Thanks for being here.
How are you Great, thank you.
Thank you for having me so well.
How much sleep are you gettingthese days?
Sleep.
Josh (03:10):
We'll sleep in April.
Shawn (03:11):
Yeah, Okay, Fair enough.
So I don't want to overstatethis, but it truly is a fact
that the special election inFlorida's 6th on April 1st is
one of the most importantelections in our lifetime.
And while this seat, which isvacated by Republican Mike Waltz
, and the other Florida specialelection that will be held on
the 1st and Florida's 1st, whichwas vacated by Matt Gaetz
probably a name a lot oflisteners know won't offer the
(03:33):
opportunity for Democrats toflip the House, but wins for
Democrats in these two electionscould narrow the margin to
literally a one-seat majorityfor Republicans, and I'm sure
you're already hearing this thatyour election may be an early
bellwether of the country'sinitial feelings about the Trump
presidency.
How do you feel about thischaracterization and what are
the stakes in this election?
Josh (03:54):
Yeah, and it's unfortunate .
We had an opportunity to takeback the House but unfortunately
, due to the untimely passingearlier this month of two
representatives Sylvester Taylorand Raul Grialba were two seats
further back those specialelections in very safe blue
districts over the summer will,depending on what happens here
(04:14):
on April 1st, can and will takeback the House this year.
We also have one more later inNew York.
But, yeah, it's the tightestmargin that any majority party
has ever had in the history ofour nation and I really think
that these are even more aboutmore than just being about
(04:35):
closing that margin or takingthe House right now.
You know we're about to flip aseat that went to the Republican
by 32 points in November andthat type of unprecedented
turnaround is going to send aresounding call across the
nation, particularly toRepublican electeds.
(04:57):
We're seeing congressmen acrossthe country having these town
halls that they're being run outof.
We're seeing incredible heatfrom their constituents.
We're seeing a lot ofunhappiness due to the direct
economic impact obviouslynegative impact from the moves
(05:18):
out of the White House and fromthis new Doge department, and
they're barely hanging on.
But you know these congressmenare pretty confident that as
long as they have Donald Trump'selection.
Their jobs are secure nextNovember and taking this seat,
this type of flip, is going tolet them all know that there is
(05:43):
no job security from DonaldTrump's endorsement, that you
must be responsible to yourconstituents, you must be
serving and representing them,not your party and not Donald
Trump, and I think that's goingto change everything in the
House over these next two years.
Shawn (06:02):
So this election is going to play out in a very different
landscape than the one inNovember, and that does suggest
that the way thatrepresentatives and I'm much
more concerned about howDemocrats run off or off it's
going to change how you wouldrun now than you would have
maybe perhaps last November, inwhich Republicans ended up
securing control of both housesof Congress again, as you
mentioned, in the House with avery slim margin and also the
(06:29):
presidency.
So how are you running yourcampaign that captures the
moment that we're living throughnow?
That might be different thanhow you would have run for the
seat in November of last year.
Josh (06:34):
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 wasDonald Trump versus Kamala
Harris.
That was driving voter turnout.
That was driving perception onwhich party people wanted in
(06:57):
power.
Particularly when you'relooking at independent and MPA
voters Right now, there is noother name on the ballot right.
It's going to be me or RandyFine.
People are choosing based on alot more than just their parties
.
You know we have a candidate inmy Republican opponent who is
(07:18):
committed to running to serveDonald Trump, whereas I am
running to serve the people wehave a whole new presidential
administration and for a lot ofpeople here, even if they voted
for Donald Trump, even if theysupported Donald Trump wanting
to ensure that their local needsare considered that there is.
(07:40):
If you think that DonaldTrump's policies are best for
the nation, do you have and doyou need someone here making
sure that they are voting forwhat is best for you, because
they want both things right.
It's not wholesale Just becausesomething is best overall for
the country.
If you believe that doesn'tmean that it's best for people
(08:03):
in Palatka doesn't mean thatit's best for people in Daytona
doesn't mean that it's best forpeople in Palm Coast.
So there's a lot of that.
There's also, you know, earlyunhappiness.
People were voting for changebased on where we were
economically after four yearsunder Joe Biden.
You know, normally you wouldsay that, well, we haven't even
(08:25):
been out of Trump's firsthundred days.
How much could he have done?
I mean, he's done more in theselast two months than some
presidents did in their entirefour years.
There's there's a lot to go offof and there's been a lot of
immediate, direct impact.
So, you know, we get to run arace that's really about
(08:46):
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.
There isn't a ticket here thatpeople are choosing and voting
for and, in addition, you knowwe really get to run and handle
(09:07):
this thing.
You know this is our campaignand we are driving it on the
ground.
We're making sure that we havean incredible field team out
there.
We're making sure that, youknow, we're not relying on
television although we're ontelevision but we're relying on
real face-to-face contact withvoters.
We're relying on realconversations, voters having the
(09:28):
opportunity to speak to someone, look them in the eyes and know
that this is real.
We're not just sending themmessages over the TV and that's
a big difference.
You know we're playing.
This is a ground game and we'rerunning on progressive values
(09:48):
as well.
We're running on progressivepolicies that you know when
there's a lot more peopleinvolved and it's a larger party
platform that you don't get theopportunity to really focus on,
and we've been told from thenational party and from national
media that progressive policiesdon't play in districts like
(10:08):
this, and we have an opportunityto really show how wrong that
is.
We have an opportunity to makea huge victory as a progressive
in a place where people didn'tthink it was possible.
That can really help redefinehow the Democratic Party
messages itself moving forward.
Shawn (10:26):
One of the narratives about the election results last
November is that Democrats havefailed in speaking to the public
, to really grasping concerns ofthe average American, and also
that one of the strategies thatwas employed by Democrats is
that the election was anexistential battle between
authoritarianism and democracyand that in retrospect, that
(10:47):
that just didn't really landwith the public.
And yet here we are, as you'vementioned, in a period of time
in which that threat actuallyit's a bit more tangible now.
So if a candidate like yourselfwere 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 toomuch time retrospectively
(11:07):
dissecting this because itdoesn't really matter to your
campaign, but I do think it doesinform, maybe a proactive
approach.
So I guess I'm just wonderingvery quickly do you agree that
we are in an existential momentnow between authoritarianism and
democracy and how do you agreethat we are in an existential
moment now betweenauthoritarianism and democracy
and how do you explain thatelection outcome?
Josh (11:24):
We absolutely are, and you know messaging is a huge part
of it.
Democrats have failed inmessaging in a major way over
the past 10, 15 years, and youknow this is something that I
speak about when we're out inpublic and I talk to voters, and
whether it's Republicans orDemocrats, I mean the fact that
(11:44):
you're putting it as you know,that last November was between
authoritarian and democracy.
Many Republican voters feltlike they were voting for
democracy over authoritarianismwhen they chose Donald Trump,
and now they are seeingsomething completely opposite.
Although this was telegraphedmonths ahead, right, there was
(12:06):
no surprise in Project 2025.
All of this was out there wellbefore the election and you know
that really comes down tomessaging that they were able to
convince people that what theywere seeing wasn't real and we
weren't able to convince peoplethat reality was real.
One of the examples I like touse is you know, when we talk
(12:27):
about labor, we've failed inmessaging on labor so badly for
so long.
If you go out to any voter inthe 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 thatis most closely tied to big
corporations and billionaires,and one of them is the party
(12:49):
that's most closely tied tolabor unions, which is which it
doesn't matter if they'reRepublican, democrat or
independent.
They're gonna know which onesyou're talking about.
And yet working people acrossthis country go into the voting
polls and, even if they knowthat they know which party is
supported by labor unions, theyknow which party is supported by
corporations and billionaires,that the Republican Party is the
(13:15):
one with their best interest inmind.
And we have got to.
We need them to feel thatDemocrats are the ones for the
working people, that we are theparty of the working people,
that we are the party of labor.
And that's messaging.
And you know the fact that wehad two whole years of a
(13:36):
Biden-controlled White House,with a Democratic majority in
the Senate and the House, and wedid not pass the PRO Act, which
would have been one of thestrongest labor bills that has
come through, one of thestrongest federal legislation
for labor and workers in decadesis.
There's no one to blame butourselves.
(13:57):
We had the power and we didn'tuse it in ways that we're seeing
the Republicans use it rightnow, when they have the exact
same level of power.
Shawn (14:06):
So another narrative is that Democrats are in the
wilderness right now, and Ithink a really good example, a
recent example, is how the votefor the continuing resolution,
the CR, played out last week.
That avoided a shutdown, but itexposed a rift between at least
House and Senate Democrats, andparticularly Minority Leader
Chuck Schumer, who's taking alot of heat right now, as he
should.
Okay, well, I guess that kindof speaks to the question, which
(14:29):
is how can Democrats and howare you then reaching out to
disaffected voters?
That might be more effectivethan the strategy that Democrats
employed in last year'selection, and what do you think
Democrats can and should be?
Josh (14:43):
Look, if the Republicans, as we just mentioned, have
control of the House, the Senateand the White House, there are
very few times or opportunitieswhere they need any votes from
the Democrats.
They are operating from aposition of absolute power.
When they have absolute power,they have no need to negotiate.
On those rare moments when theyrequire Democratic votes, we
(15:08):
have to have to bring them tothe table to negotiate with us.
They have to negotiate and makeconcessions for our votes.
The fact that they refuse toand our Democratic leadership in
the Senate still cave, wasunacceptable, unacceptable.
You cannot be allowing them, inthose rare moments when they
(15:30):
need you, to have you for free.
That's not how any of this worksand you know someone someone
pointed it out online that youknow it appears.
It appears that you knowRepublicans' biggest concern is,
you know what Republican votersthink about their actions and
that Democrats' biggest concernsis what Republican voters think
about their actions, and it'shard to argue with that.
(15:52):
You know we need to serve allAmericans and we need to start
by ensuring that we are notbetraying our base, because
losing our base is how we losebig elections like last November
.
You know you have to secureyour base and expand from there,
and leadership is just notdoing that right now.
Shawn (16:13):
So this is maybe just an observation and a little bit of
inside baseball, but I think oneof the things that was
particularly shocking is thatthis didn't have to be a zero
sum game.
The continuing resolution.
There really was an opportunityfor Democrats to at least
negotiate some concessions, andit doesn't seem like that
happened at all.
So what do you think happened?
I mean, you're running for aseat in the House and the House
(16:34):
held the line right.
It was the Senate, that kind ofbroke, but what do you think
happened there and what's thepotential ramifications of it?
Josh (16:40):
I mean, look, I think that we do not have strong
leadership in the Senate and Ithink we have an abundance of
evidence at this point that it'strue.
You know, when Chuck Schumertook over as majority leader, he
came in criticizing MitchMcConnell for all of the
Democratic sponsored bills thatnever made it off of his desk
(17:02):
and never got introduced or upfor vote, because McConnell had
control over that.
But then Chuck Schumer neverintroduced those same bills as
well.
You know, we've seen it fromNancy Pelosi.
Whether you love her or hateher, nancy Pelosi is very good
at her job.
Nancy Pelosi makes sure thatshe got done everything she
needed to get done.
(17:23):
Whether we liked all of thosethings or not, if she needed to
get them done, she got them done.
And there is no one out therewho feels that way about Chuck
Schumer as our leader in theSenate, which is a problem, you
know.
It's not to say that he hasn'tbeen a successful senator.
It's not to say that he doesn'thave good values, but he has
(17:43):
been ineffective in the topleadership position in the most
powerful legislative body in theworld, and we can't abide that
any longer.
The stakes are too high rightnow for us to continue to sit
back with ineffective leadership, completely missing on major
opportunities like the ones wejust highlighted.
Shawn (18:04):
So final question, and one I'm sure you've never gotten
before why should folks in yourdistrict vote for you, and what
can your district expect fromyou if you are elected to
represent them in Congress inApril?
Josh (18:15):
So the way I like to put it is you know, I'm a public
school teacher.
I've spent 13 years working inTitle I schools.
In public schools we don'tchoose which kids we serve,
right.
We don't just serve the easyones, we don't just serve the
ones that are like us.
You know, I come from a mathand science background, working
in school leadership the lastthree years.
We don't just make sure thatour math and science scores are
(18:37):
good and ignore reading andsocial studies scores.
We work for everything everykid, every family.
We make sure that they're takencare of, that their needs are
met, that they're gettingeverything they can out of our
school.
And that's exactly the type ofphilosophy and mindset that we
should have from our electiveleaders.
Now, I'm not here to serve partyleadership.
(18:57):
I'm not here to hold the lineon you know party line on a vote
or an issue If it's in contrastto what is best for my district
here.
I'm here to represent thepeople of District 6.
And you know what?
Sometimes that's going to meanvoting for or supporting
legislation brought about by theRepublicans, and I feel
(19:18):
confident that far more oftenthey'll be best served by what
we're doing out of theDemocratic Party, but I'm here
to serve them, and that's how itshould be.
I think that we need morerepresentatives who are serving
their constituents than we doone serving their party.
Shawn (19:37):
Josh, thanks for taking the time for the sake of the
country.
Good luck.
Thank you so much.
It's clear that the upcomingspecial elections in Florida's
1st and 6th districts are morethan just local races.
They're potential game changersfor the entire nation.
(19:59):
With the balance of power inthe House hanging by a thread,
literally every vote counts.
These elections could be thekey to restoring checks and
balances in our government andsafeguarding our democratic
institutions, and my discussionwith Josh Weil should make
starkly clear why theseelections in Florida on April
(20:19):
1st could be the most importantelections in American history.
To our listeners in Florida'sfirst and sixth districts, your
vote has never been moreimportant, so make your voice
heard on April 1st.
There are some links in theshow notes with information
about how to vote in thesedistricts and for all of our
listeners inside and outside ofFlorida.
There are also some links tothe candidate websites,
(20:42):
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 takeback the house and, with it,
american democracy.
All right, check back next weekfor another episode of Deep
Dive Chat soon, folks.
Thank you, thank you, you.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.