CIVICS SCORECARD

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Joey Mendoza Atkins

Florida Commissioner of Agriculture
Statewide — appears on every PBC ballot
D Nominee
★★★★☆
121 / 165 points
Integrity & Legal Record
Professional & Business Transparency
Policy & Platform Consistency
Community Engagement & Character
Campaign Transparency
Issue-Based Positions

Challenger (Miami trial attorney at Barnes Trial Group and former sports agent representing college/professional athletes; legal practice focused on civil litigation, including legal aid work for migrant farmworkers and DACA recipients; 2024 Democratic nominee for U.S. House FL-26 (R+41.8 seat spanning the Everglades, Immokalee, Ave Maria, and parts of Collier/Monroe Counties); active with Miami-Dade Democrats during the 2025 Miami Mayor's race flip; briefly entered the 2026 U.S. Senate special election before withdrawing to run for Commissioner of Agriculture, qualifying 6/12/2026; running in a contested D primary against Don Prichard)

Last updated: 2026-08-21

Every candidate is researched identically across six categories using only public records and candidate-submitted information. No candidate is endorsed. Read the full methodology.

Integrity & Legal Record 25 / 25

Criminal History

`[NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Joey Mendoza Atkins" arrested OR convicted OR indicted — 2026-08-14]`. No adverse findings.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-14 — no adverse matches

Civil Court History

`[NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Joey Mendoza Atkins" lawsuit OR litigation — 2026-08-14]`. No adverse civil litigation found against him personally; his professional civil litigation practice is representation of clients, not adverse to him.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-14 — no adverse matches

Ethics Violations

No Florida Bar disciplinary action or ethics complaints found. `[Sports-agent-specific licensing/discipline history NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search, general Florida Bar disciplinary action listings — 2026-08-14]`.

Sources:
  • Google/news search: "Joey Mendoza Atkins" Florida Bar discipline — 2026-08-14 — no adverse matches
  • Florida Commission on Ethics — https://ethics.state.fl.us/Complaints/Complaints.aspx — 2026-08-14

Campaign Finance Violations

`[NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Joey Mendoza Atkins" campaign finance FEC violation — 2026-08-14]`. No violation records found. Noted for context (not a violation): Atkins switched races twice in the 2026 cycle — briefly entering the U.S. Senate special election before withdrawing to run for Commissioner of Agriculture; no irregularity in these transitions was found in available reporting.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-14 — no adverse matches
  • The Bradenton Times — race analysis — 2026-08-14

Residency Confirmed

Documented Miami, FL (Miami-Dade County) resident, consistent with his 2024 FL-26 congressional candidacy and Miami-Dade Democratic Party activity.

Sources:
  • The Bradenton Times; campaign website (joeyforflorida.com) — 2026-08-14
  • Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate per the roster, and the CIVICS Disclosure Survey PDF answers have not yet been extracted/indexed per-candidate in general.

Professional & Business Transparency 22 / 25

Business Ownership

A Florida Sunbiz Officer/Registered Agent search under "Atkins, Joey D" returned five entities, all professionally consistent with his documented law/sports-agent career: J DAVID ATKINS LAW PA (P20000025589) — his law practice entity; DREAM SPORTS MANAGEMENT, INC. (P20000014114) — consistent with his sports-agent background; THE SUMMANUS GROUP LLC (L17000007296); DREAMWORLD ENTERTAINMENT, LLC (L22000257100); TIME WIZE LLC (L08000003072). Detail-page confirmation of each entity's status (active/inactive), address, and full officer detail could not be completed due to the tooling block described above. No entity name suggests anything concerning, and all are consistent with his stated professional background.

Sources:
  • Florida Division of Corporations (Sunbiz), search.sunbiz.org, Officer/Registered Agent Name search "Atkins, Joey D" — 2026-08-21 — full result list captured; detail pages blocked (see tooling note)
  • Florida Bar directory — "J. David Atkins 'Joey'," member #114905 — 2026-08-21 — confirms identity/legal name
⚠️ REVIEW FLAG — Entity-level detail (status, addresses) could not be confirmed due to a Sunbiz tooling block; recommend a manual recheck once the block clears.

Financial Conflicts of Interest

No government-body overlap identified. Atkins has never held elected or appointed public office (he is a first-time statewide candidate), so there is no government body for his law practice or sports-management business to have transacted with in an official capacity.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search: "Joey Mendoza Atkins" government contract — 2026-08-21 — no matches

Bankruptcy History

`[NOT FOUND]`. No personal or business bankruptcy filings located.

Sources:
  • CourtListener (courtlistener.com) — search "Joey Atkins" bankruptcy — 2026-08-21 — 0 results

Tax Liens

`[NOT FOUND]`. No federal or state tax lien records located. Per this project's standing methodology, tax liens are inconsistently indexed online, so this absence of results is not presented as a confirmed clean record.

Sources:
  • CourtListener (courtlistener.com) — search "Joey Atkins" tax lien — 2026-08-21 — 0 results

Board Memberships

`[NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Joey Mendoza Atkins" board member/director nonprofit — 2026-08-21]`. No corporate or nonprofit board membership identified beyond his own companies listed above. No spouse was identified via web search, so the standing spouse-check methodology could not be applied.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-21 — no matches found
  • ⚠️ TOOLING BLOCK: Sunbiz's document-detail lookup became unresponsive mid-session (verified against a previously-working document number), preventing entity-level status/address confirmation for this candidate's 5 identified entities. Recommend a manual recheck once the block clears.
  • Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate per the roster.

Policy & Platform Consistency 15 / 20

Voting Record

`[NO VOTING RECORD — NON-INCUMBENT]`. Atkins has never held elected office. His platform is grounded in his legal-aid work representing migrant farmworkers and DACA recipients, which he cites as formative ("I think it gave me a first-hand understanding that agriculture isn't just about crops, it's about people"). Specific documented positions: a moratorium on data centers, and a rollback of the sugar-grower air-pollution-lawsuit liability shield that incumbent Wilton Simpson championed as Senate President (see cross-reference in Simpson_Wilton's Category 3 file) — a direct, specific policy contrast with his opponent. He frames his candidacy as "David vs. Goliath."

Sources:
  • WMNF — "Get to know the 2026 Florida candidates for Agriculture Commissioner and Chief Financial Officer" — 2026-08-21
  • joeyforflorida.com — campaign platform — 2026-08-21
None — expected for a non-incumbent per this category's methodology; platform includes a specific, checkable policy contrast with the incumbent.

Position Consistency

Atkins has run for several offices in a short span: 2024 Democratic nominee for U.S. House FL-26; briefly entered the 2026 U.S. Senate special election before withdrawing to run for Commissioner of Agriculture (qualifying 6/12/2026). `[No documented change in his underlying policy positions across these candidacies was identified — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Joey Atkins" position change 2024 2026 — 2026-08-21]`; his farmworker-rights/legal-aid-derived platform appears consistent across his public profile, though the office-shopping across three different races in two years is a documented fact about his candidacy pattern that is noted for voter awareness.

Sources:
  • Category 1 candidate profile (cross-referenced) — 2026-08-21
⚠️ REVIEW FLAG — Atkins has sought three different offices (FL-26, U.S. Senate, Agriculture Commissioner) within a roughly two-year span; while not itself a position reversal, this pattern is documented for voter awareness as distinct from a single, sustained candidacy.

Flip-Flops

`[NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Joey Atkins" flip-flop reversed position — 2026-08-21]`. No documented instance of Atkins reversing a substantive policy position was identified; see Position Consistency above regarding his multiple recent candidacies, which is a distinct issue from a policy reversal.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-21 — no matches
None beyond the Position Consistency note above.

Endorsements

Received: Florida Democratic Agricultural Caucus; Florida Democratic Environmental Caucus; Florida Sentinel; Jacksonville LGBT Chamber; Orange County Black Caucus; NAACP Hillsborough County; several other local/community organizations. He won the 8/18/2026 Democratic primary against Don Prichard. `[Endorsements given — NOT FOUND — 2026-08-21]`.

Sources:
  • joeyforflorida.com — "Endorsements" — 2026-08-21
  • Blue Voter Guide — "Endorsements for Joey Atkins" — 2026-08-21
  • ⚠️ REVIEW FLAG: Atkins has sought three different offices (FL-26, 2024; U.S. Senate, briefly, 2026; Agriculture Commissioner, 2026) within a roughly two-year span. Not itself a policy reversal, but documented for voter awareness.
  • Cross-reference: his data-center-moratorium and sugar-liability-shield-rollback positions directly contrast with incumbent Wilton Simpson's legislative record, documented in Simpson_Wilton's Category 3 file.
  • Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate.

Community Engagement & Character 15 / 25

Community Involvement

Atkins has a documented record of direct legal-aid service: providing legal aid to migrant farmworkers and DACA recipients as part of his trial-attorney practice, which he has publicly cited among his proudest work. He holds a Master of Arts in International Economic Development (The New School's Milano School) and has engaged in policy work with the UN Global Compact. `[No specific nonprofit board membership independent of his professional legal-aid work was found — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Joey Atkins" volunteer nonprofit board — 2026-08-24]`.

Sources:
  • Tampa Bay 28 — "Meet the candidates: Questionnaire for Florida Commissioner of Agriculture" — 2026-08-24
  • MultiState Elections — "Joey Mendoza Atkins" — 2026-08-24

Veteran / First Responder Service

`[NOT FOUND — no military or first-responder service background documented — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Joey Atkins" military veteran Agriculture Commissioner — 2026-08-24]`. No claim of personal service was found in his campaign materials.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-24 — no matches

Faith-Based Involvement (scored on character consistency)

`[NOT FOUND — no faith-community affiliation documented — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Joey Atkins" church faith — 2026-08-24]`. Not scored negatively per protocol. On character consistency: his documented legal-aid work for migrant farmworkers and DACA recipients is directly consistent with his stated campaign focus on agricultural/rural policy and consumer protection; no contradictions identified.

Sources:
  • (cross-referenced from Community Involvement sources above) — 2026-08-24

Debates / Town Halls

`[No documented debate/town hall invitations or appearances for the 2026 general election were found this pass — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Joey Atkins" Agriculture Commissioner debate 2026 — 2026-08-24]`. He won a contested Democratic primary against Don Prichard (already documented in his profile summary).

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-24 — no matches
⚠️ REVIEW FLAG — No debate coverage found; recommend a follow-up closer to November.

Social Media Presence & Consistency

Active campaign presence via joeyforflorida.com. `[A full manual review of his last 90 days of posts was NOT performed this pass — 2026-08-24]`. No inflammatory or contradictory content was surfaced in general search.

Sources:
  • joeyforflorida.com — 2026-08-24
⚠️ REVIEW FLAG — Full manual 90-day audit not performed; recommend direct platform review if full certainty is required.
  • ⚠️ REVIEW FLAG: No debate coverage or full social-media audit completed this pass; recommend follow-up closer to November.
  • Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate.

Campaign Transparency 20 / 25

Top Donors / Donor Composition

``` DONOR COMPOSITION: Personal loan to campaign: $8,480 Outside contributions: $1,290 Total: ~$9,770 Cash on hand: ~$1,300 PAC/political-committee contributions received: None ``` An almost entirely self-funded, minimal-scale campaign, standing in stark contrast to incumbent Wilton Simpson's ~$31 million multi-PAC operation (see Simpson_Wilton.md).

Sources:
  • Florida Phoenix — "Florida's primary races for commissioner of agriculture" — 2026-08-26
  • The Bradenton Times — "Race Analysis: Florida AG Commissioner Democratic Primary" — 2026-08-26

PAC / LLC / Funneling Structures

`[NOT FOUND — no PAC involvement identified; campaign confirmed to have received no political-committee contributions — searched: Florida Division of Elections — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Florida Phoenix — as above — 2026-08-26

Advertising Spend

With only ~$1,300 cash on hand, documented spending is negligible and fully disclosed, consistent with a token-resource primary campaign.

Sources:
  • Florida Phoenix — as above — 2026-08-26

Grassroots Engagement

`[No documented door-knocking, phone-banking, or in-person voter-contact ground game was located this session — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Joey Atkins" agriculture commissioner campaign volunteer 2026 — 2026-08-26]`. His documented public activity (per Category 4) centers on legal-aid work for migrant farmworkers rather than campaign field organizing specifically.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Donations to Political Figures

`[NOT FOUND — no record of Atkins donating to other political campaigns or PACs was identified — searched: Florida Division of Elections, nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches
  • Notable: this candidate's near-total self-funding stands in sharp contrast to incumbent Wilton Simpson's ~$31M multi-PAC operation, documented in Simpson_Wilton.md.
  • Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate.

Issue-Based Positions 24 / 40

2A Rights Score

`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — a DecodeTheVote candidate profile explicitly notes "no clear stance on gun policy" — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: NRA, GOA, campaign website — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • decodethevote.com — Joey Mendoza Atkins record & positions — 2026-08-26

Pro-Life / Pro-Family Score

`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: SBA Pro-Life America, campaign website — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Fiscal Conservatism Score

`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: AFP, Club for Growth, CATO, campaign website — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Parental Rights Score

`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: Moms for Liberty, campaign website — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Election Integrity Position

`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: campaign website, nationwide news search — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Housing / Insurance Position

`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: campaign website, nationwide news search — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Education / School Choice Position

`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: Parents Defending Education, campaign website — 2026-08-26]`.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches

Environment / Everglades Position

Campaign platform states a goal to "restore environmental protections" and "promotes sustainable farming to protect environmental resources," but no PBC-specific water-quality or Everglades proposal was located.

Sources:
  • decodethevote.com — as above — 2026-08-26
  • All eight metrics scored neutral (3) per the No Stated Position protocol; a general/biographical platform (legal aid for migrant farmworkers/DACA recipients, land-use reform) has not translated into a detailed national-issues platform.
  • Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate.

Other candidates in this race — Florida Commissioner of Agriculture

Wilton Simpson (REP)View the full Florida Commissioner of Agriculture race page →

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