Born in Detroit and raised in Yonkers, New York, Joe was introduced to politics by his late grandmother Ruth, who took him door-to-door campaigning for Ronald Reagan at just 10 years old. He later attended the University of Maryland, where a shocking act of anti-Semitism by his freshman roommate, who placed a swastika on their dorm room wall, galvanized Joe’s lifelong commitment to defending the Jewish people. After graduating, Joe moved to Florida to care for his grandmother, who suffered from COPD, a severe breathing condition that kept her in and out of the hospital and rehab.

Today, Joe is married to Emily, a Spanish and Hebrew teacher originally from Peru, and together they are raising their 11-year-old daughter Ruth, named after Joe’s beloved grandmother.

Joe Kaufman, Republican Nominee for U.S. Congress (Florida District 23), has spent his life dedicated to protecting America and its allies from threats both foreign and domestic. With a deep background in counter-terrorism, Joe has been instrumental in shutting down terrorist-linked charities and bringing individuals tied to terrorism to justice. As a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and Chairman of the Joe Kaufman Security Initiative, he has assisted key agencies like Homeland Security, the FBI, the Department of Defense, and the Secret Service to combat those who seek to harm the nation.

Joe’s leadership extends to recent victories in preventing extremist events from taking place. In January, he successfully led efforts to shut down a pro-Hamas conference that was to be held in Coral Springs, Florida. The following month, Joe forced Congresswoman Summer Lee, a member of ‘The Squad,’ to cancel her address at the Hamas-linked CAIR annual conference in Philadelphia. Joe has also provided critical intelligence to the state of Florida, leading to action against a radical imam, who called for an annihilation of Jews, and the imam’s taxpayer-funded private school in Miami.

Joe’s fight against terrorism goes beyond America’s borders. For well over a decade, Joe has had involvement with the opposition to the Ayatollah regime in Iran. His commitment to this cause has earned him endorsements from major figures in the movement, including John Qmars Naimi, President of the global opposition group Cyrus Force, and Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Shah of Iran. Prince Pahlavi praised Joe for his dedication to freeing the Iranian people, expressing optimism that with Joe in Congress, “the dream of a free and democratic Iran” can become a reality.