A Congressional Candidate

Joe Kaufman, a candidate for United States Congress in Florida’s 23^rd district, was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1970. He was raised by his grandparents in Westchester, New York and studied at the University of Maryland where he received a degree in communications. In 1993, Joe moved to South Florida to care for his grandmother and has been there ever since. 

Joe made a name for himself as a investigative journalist with articles in FrontPage Magazine, the Hudson Institute, Pajamas Media and National Review. His expertise lies in the areas of counter-terrorism, energy independence and Middle Eastern / South Asian affairs.

A Commitment to Counter-Terrorism

Exactly one month prior to 9/11, Kaufman wrote that the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center would happen again. Two weeks after his words proved to be true, Joe dedicated his life to the fight against terrorism. In 1998, he co-founded Americans Against Hate (AAH), a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization, dedicated to exposing bigotry and fighting terrorism.

Since his declared commitment, Joe has served as a consultant to several government agencies including the FBI, Department of Defense and Homeland Security. He has been instrumental in getting multiple U.S. based terrorist organizations shut down and terror-related individuals put in prison. Between 2004 and 2006, Kaufman was involved in a number of high profile cases while serving as the special assistant to Larry Klayman, founder of Judicial Watch, while at the Klayman Law Firm in Miami, FL.

In 2006, Joe helped found and became the spokesman for Terror-Free Oil Initiative (TFOI), an organization that stresses energy independence for the United States. "Because of America’s dependence on foreign oil – specifically oil coming from the Middle East – we are financing our own demise," says Joe. In 2007, TFOI created the world’s first Terror-Free Oil gas station in Omaha, Nebraska. That same year, Joe was the keynote speaker for Islamo-fascism Awareness Week at UCLA. Three years later, his three hour Pro-Israel Conference was broadcast in its entirety on C-SPAN.

In February 2012, Joe wrote a report that exposed Debbie Wasserman Schultz participation in Emerge, a radical Muslim group. He exposed the fact that the group’s leaders actively spread bigotry and support terrorism and therefore got his congressional opponent to cancel her keynote address at the group’s annual fundraising dinner. In addition to the many issues that Joe Kaufman stands for, he plans on de-seating Schultz when he is elected to congress.

Making a Difference

A few more highlights of Joe’s career include being co-founder of the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) in Florida, former vice president and treasurer of the Broward County Young Republicans, junior lobbyist for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and committeeman for the
Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

Joe has given lectures at events sponsored by the Middle East Forum, the Intelligence Summit, America’s Truth Forum, the David Horowitz Freedom Center, Broward County Special Olympics and Hadassah. He has been featured on radio and television networks that including, but are not limited to, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC and CNBC.

The Final Decision to Run for Congress

When a group of tea party leaders sat Joe down and asked him to run for congress, Joe gave it some deep thought before humbly accepting their nomination. Less than a year later, Kaufman has taken the lead in Broward County's District 23 Republican polls and is looking forward to the primary elections in August 2012!