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Jose Javier Rodriguez

Florida Attorney General
Statewide — appears on every PBC ballot
Challenger
★★★★☆
129 / 165 points
Integrity & Legal Record
Professional & Business Transparency
Policy & Platform Consistency
Community Engagement & Character
Campaign Transparency
Issue-Based Positions

Challenger (born 8/8/1978, High Point, NC; Miami-Dade native; Peace Corps volunteer; Harvard Law graduate; workers'-rights attorney; served in the Florida House, District 112, 2012–2016, and Florida Senate, District 37, 2016–2020; nominated by President Biden in 2021 to serve as Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training at the U.S. Dept. of Labor, confirmed by the Senate in March 2024 (50-48); announced AG candidacy 6/2/2025 on an anti-corruption, consumer-protection platform; running unopposed in the D primary)

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 "Jose Javier Rodriguez" arrested OR convicted OR indicted — 2026-08-14]`. No adverse findings. Context: Rodríguez was the victim, not perpetrator, of the 2020 "ghost candidate" scheme, in which former Republican state Sen. Frank Artiles orchestrated the planting of a similarly-named no-party candidate (Alex(is) Rodriguez) in Rodríguez's SD-37 re-election race to siphon votes; Rodríguez narrowly lost to Republican Ileana Garcia as a result. Artiles was subsequently criminally convicted for his role in the scheme. This reflects adversely on Artiles and the scheme's other conspirators, not on Rodríguez.

Sources:
  • Wikipedia — José Javier Rodríguez (Florida politician) — 2026-08-14
  • Wikipedia — Ileana Garcia — 2026-08-14 — confirms Rodríguez as the scheme's target/victim

Civil Court History

`[NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Jose Javier Rodriguez" lawsuit OR litigation Florida — 2026-08-14]`. No civil litigation records found.

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

Ethics Violations

No ethics complaints found.

Sources:
  • Google/news search: "Jose Javier Rodriguez" Florida ethics complaint — 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 "Jose Javier Rodriguez" campaign finance FEC violation — 2026-08-14]`. No violation records found for Rodríguez's own campaign. Noted for context (not a violation by Rodríguez): his campaign has publicly raised objections to certain campaign contributions received by opponent James Uthmeier; this is documented as advocacy/criticism by Rodríguez, not a finding against him. His campaign has raised over $1M combined between his campaign account and PAC.

Sources:
  • Florida Phoenix / News From The States — "Jose Javier Rodriguez raises objections to some of James Uthmeier's campaign contributions" — 2026-08-14
  • FEC.gov — candidate overview, H8FL27052 — 2026-08-14

Residency Confirmed

Documented Miami-Dade native and resident, consistent with his House (District 112) and Senate (District 37) service representing Miami-Dade communities.

Sources:
  • Wikipedia; campaign site (jjr.vote) — 2026-08-14
  • Investigated and clarified: Rodríguez was the target/victim of the 2020 Frank Artiles "ghost candidate" criminal scheme, not a participant.
  • Investigated and ruled out: two unrelated same/similar-name individuals (Jose Valerio-Rodriguez, Jose Rodriguez-Rodriguez) in unrelated criminal matters.
  • 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 23 / 25

Business Ownership

"Jose Javier Rodriguez" is a common name in Miami-Dade, so a Florida Sunbiz Officer/Registered Agent search under the exact name (full result set reviewed) required individual verification of each hit rather than assumption. Three entities returned: - JJ GENERAL SERVICES LLC (L22000402708, filed 2022, inactive) — registered at 2234 E Carol Cir, West Palm Beach, FL. Ruled out: this candidate is a lifelong Miami-Dade resident/attorney with no documented Palm Beach County ties. - UTOPIA ROOM LLC (L23000443238, active) — registered at 3900 S Goldenrod Rd, Orlando, FL, and the actual LLC member is listed as "Rodriguez, Jose Javier, Jr." (a "Jr." suffix the candidate does not carry) alongside a second member, Mismely Carmen Duque Gomez. Ruled out: different city, different generational suffix. - OMEGA TRAILERS, INC. (P07000084579, filed 2007, dissolved 2009) — President "Rodriguez, Jose Javier" at 970 NE 37 Place, Homestead, FL (Miami-Dade County, so geographically plausible). However, in 2007 this candidate was working full-time as an attorney for Florida Legal Services, Inc. (per his documented career timeline: Harvard J.D. 2006 → five years at Florida Legal Services), which is not consistent with concurrently serving as president of an industrial trailer manufacturing company in Homestead alongside a slate of officers with no other apparent connection to him. No source connects this candidate to trailer manufacturing. Treated as very likely a different, unrelated "Jose Javier Rodriguez" based on this professional-timeline mismatch, though — unlike the two entities above — this could not be ruled out with the same certainty (no differing suffix or out-of-region address). No confirmed personal business entity was found for this candidate.

Sources:
  • Florida Division of Corporations (Sunbiz), search.sunbiz.org, Officer/Registered Agent Name search "Rodriguez, Jose Javier" — 2026-08-21 — full returned result set reviewed
  • Sunbiz entity detail — JJ GENERAL SERVICES LLC (L22000402708), UTOPIA ROOM LLC (L23000443238), OMEGA TRAILERS, INC. (P07000084579) — 2026-08-21
  • Wikipedia — José Javier Rodríguez (Florida politician), career timeline — 2026-08-21
⚠️ REVIEW FLAG — The Omega Trailers, Inc. (Homestead, 2007) match could not be ruled out with full certainty (same first/middle/last name, same county) despite a strong professional-timeline mismatch; recommend operator awareness, though current evidence weighs against it being this candidate.

Financial Conflicts of Interest

No government-body-to-personal-business overlap identified. Rodríguez has served in the Florida House and Senate (legislative, not contract-awarding executive roles) and, most recently, as a U.S. Dept. of Labor Assistant Secretary; no personal business entity was confirmed (see above). Per this project's standing spouse-check methodology, a Sunbiz search under his wife's name found Sonia M. Succar (Succar Ferré) as Managing Member of SONIA LLC (L20000003669, active, 1 Grove Isle Drive, Coconut Grove, FL) — an active personal-holding LLC with no indication of government contracts or dealings with any body Rodríguez has served on.

Sources:
  • Sunbiz entity detail — SONIA LLC (L20000003669) — 2026-08-21 — registered agent "Succar Ferré, Sonia M," corroborating her identity as the candidate's wife (per news reporting, granddaughter of former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferré)
  • Nationwide Google/news search: "Jose Javier Rodriguez" government contract — 2026-08-21 — no matches

Bankruptcy History

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

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

Board Memberships

No corporate or nonprofit board membership was identified via web search. Separately, and not scored as a business board seat, his official biography lists several public government advisory appointments tied to his elected service: Vice-Chair of the Miami-Dade Legislative Delegation, member of the Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee, and member of the Community Relations Board — these are governmental/civic committee roles attached to his public office, not private business or nonprofit directorships.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search: "Jose Javier Rodriguez" board member/director nonprofit Miami — 2026-08-21 — no corporate/nonprofit board matches; only public-service committee appointments found
  • ⚠️ REVIEW FLAG: One same-name Sunbiz entity (Omega Trailers, Inc., Homestead, 2007) could not be ruled out with full certainty despite a strong professional-timeline mismatch; recommend operator awareness.
  • Investigated and ruled out: two other same-name Sunbiz entities (West Palm Beach, Orlando/"Jr." suffix) — confirmed unrelated individuals via geography and name-suffix mismatch.
  • Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate per the roster.

Policy & Platform Consistency 20 / 20

Voting Record

Rodríguez served in the Florida House (2012–2016) and Florida Senate, District 37 (2016–2020), on the Judiciary Committee, Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture/Environment/General Government, Ethics and Elections Committee, and Rules Committee. His sponsored-bill record spans elections, public records, postsecondary education, micro-business assistance, civil remedies, judicial-candidate qualifying, oil/gas regulation, electric-vehicle charging infrastructure, wastewater discharge, minimum wage, English-language-learner education, firearms, PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) programs, and protections for incarcerated pregnant women. After leaving the Legislature, he was nominated by President Biden and Senate-confirmed (50-48, March 2024) as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training, serving April 2024–January 2025 — a federal executive-branch confirmation record distinct from a legislative voting record but a further primary-source credential.

Sources:
  • FastDemocracy — "Florida Senator Jose Javier Rodriguez" bill list — 2026-08-21
  • Ballotpedia — "Jose Javier Rodriguez" — 2026-08-21
  • LobbyTools — legislator profile — 2026-08-21

Position Consistency

Rodríguez's documented legislative priorities as a state senator (environmental/anti-pollution advocacy, worker protections, minimum wage) are consistent with his current AG campaign platform (standing with working families, holding corporations accountable, anti-corruption/consumer-protection focus) and with the specific endorsement rationale offered by VoteWater (citing "his record as a state lawmaker standing up to polluters and ensuring safe drinking water").

Sources:
  • Florida Politics — "José Javier Rodríguez crosses $1M raised for Attorney General bid, adds VoteWater endorsement" — 2026-08-21
  • WUSF — "Florida attorney general candidate José Javier Rodríguez on 'fighting for the little guy'" — 2026-08-21

Flip-Flops

`[NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Jose Javier Rodriguez" flip-flop reversed position changed stance — 2026-08-21]`. No documented instance of Rodríguez reversing a stated position was identified.

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-21 — no matches

Endorsements

Received: Florida AFL-CIO (COPE, unanimous vote, the union's first 2026 endorsement); SEIU Florida; Latino Victory Fund; SAVE Action PAC; VoteWater; former U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson; former FL Attorney General Bob Butterworth; former Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg; former state Reps. Dan Gelber and Sean Shaw; U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost. `[Endorsements given — NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Jose Javier Rodriguez" endorsed candidate 2026 — 2026-08-21]`.

Sources:
  • Florida Politics — multiple endorsement announcement articles (AFL-CIO, Latino Victory Fund, SEIU) — 2026-08-21
  • The Floridian — "Congressman Maxwell Frost Endorses Jose Javier Rodriguez for Attorney General" — 2026-08-21
  • Political Cortadito — SAVE Action PAC endorsement coverage — 2026-08-21
  • Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate.

Community Engagement & Character 18 / 25

Community Involvement

Rodríguez served as a Peace Corps Business Advising Volunteer in Senegal (2000–2003) — a sustained, three-year, in-person international community-service commitment predating his political career. As a candidate, he has conducted in-person community outreach, including a visit to Miami Shores (hosted by Northeast Miami-Dade Democrats) laying out his AG platform, and a visit to Miami Shores Community Church.

Sources:
  • Miami-Dade Democratic Party — "José Javier Rodríguez visits Miami Shores: A People's Lawyer for a Safer, Fairer Florida" — 2026-08-24

Veteran / First Responder Service

`[NOT FOUND — no military or first-responder service background documented — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Jose Javier Rodriguez" military veteran — 2026-08-24]`. His three-year Peace Corps service (above) is a documented form of national/international service, though distinct from military or first-responder service under this metric's specific definition.

Sources:
  • Ballotpedia — "Jose Javier Rodriguez" — 2026-08-24
None — factual absence of military/first-responder service specifically; Peace Corps service is separately credited under Community Involvement.

Faith-Based Involvement (scored on character consistency)

His family background includes being "raised in church" (his father fled the Cuban dictatorship; his parents raised their family in church and community, per his campaign biography). `[No current personal denomination/congregation membership was independently confirmed — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Jose Javier Rodriguez" church faith — 2026-08-24]`. Per protocol, this is not scored negatively. On character consistency: his stated platform (anti-corruption, consumer protection, "people's lawyer") is consistent with his documented public-service career (Peace Corps, FL House/Senate, U.S. DOL); no contradictions identified.

Sources:
  • jjr.vote — "About" — 2026-08-24

Debates / Town Halls

Documented in-person campaign appearance: the Miami Shores Community Church platform event (above). `[No additional documented debate invitations or appearances for the 2026 general election against Uthmeier were found this pass — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Jose Javier Rodriguez" attorney general debate 2026 — 2026-08-24]`. Both candidates advanced directly to the general election without a primary.

Sources:
  • Miami-Dade Democratic Party — as above — 2026-08-24
⚠️ REVIEW FLAG — Only one confirmed appearance found; recommend a follow-up closer to November for general-election debate coverage.

Social Media Presence & Consistency

Active campaign presence via jjr.vote. `[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:
  • jjr.vote — 2026-08-24
⚠️ REVIEW FLAG — Full manual 90-day audit not performed; recommend direct platform review if full certainty is required.
  • ⚠️ REVIEW FLAG: No general-election debate coverage found yet; recommend a 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 19 / 25

Top Donors / Donor Composition

``` DONOR COMPOSITION (as of 6/26/26): Total raised: ~$1.5 million Campaign account: ~$694,000 Political committee ("Floridians for JJR"): ~$776,000 Top donor: Steve Pajcic (Jacksonville attorney/philanthropist) — $75,000 to PAC (~10% of PAC total, ~5% of overall total) ``` `[A precise small-vs-large individual donor percentage breakdown was NOT FOUND — searched: Florida Division of Elections, OpenSecrets — 2026-08-26]`. No single donor approaches this metric's 15-20% concentration flag thresholds, and no industry-cluster or lobbyist-dominated pattern was identified.

Sources:
  • Florida Politics — "José Javier Rodríguez crosses $1M raised for Attorney General bid" — 2026-08-26
  • Florida Politics — "James Uthmeier, José Javier Rodríguez ramp up fundraising in Attorney General race" — 2026-08-26

PAC / LLC / Funneling Structures

`[PAC NOTED — Floridians for JJR — ~$776,000 — Fully disclosed, standard candidate-affiliated political committee — Florida Politics]`. No LLC, dark-money, or foreign-adjacent funding was identified; the committee name mirroring his initials is a mild, common pattern (similar to many Florida candidates' PACs) rather than an unusual coordination signal.

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

Advertising Spend

`[Specific advertising-spend figures were NOT independently itemized this session — searched: Florida Division of Elections expenditure reports — 2026-08-26]`. His overall ~$1.5M budget is modest relative to incumbent Uthmeier's $10M+ operation, consistent with a proportionate, non-dominant challenger campaign.

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

Grassroots Engagement

`[No documented door-knocking, phone-banking, or in-person voter-contact events were located this session — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Jose Javier Rodriguez" campaign canvassing volunteer 2026 — 2026-08-26]`. He has received a VoteWater endorsement (per campaign coverage), consistent with issue-advocacy-coalition engagement rather than a documented field-organizing operation.

Sources:
  • Florida Politics — "José Javier Rodríguez crosses $1M raised for Attorney General bid, adds VoteWater endorsement" — 2026-08-26

Donations to Political Figures

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

Sources:
  • Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches
  • No adverse findings; this candidate's fundraising profile is comparatively clean and modest relative to the incumbent's.
  • 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

Acknowledges the constraints of Florida's firearm-preemption law but says the AG's office can "enforce liability laws, advocate safe storage, and work with law enforcement on commonsense reforms," framing his approach as "even in a red state, we can lead on gun safety — not just gun control."

Sources:
  • WUSF — "Florida Matters: Florida attorney general candidate José Javier Rodríguez talks priorities" — 2026-08-26

Pro-Life / Pro-Family Score

`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND — scored 3 per protocol — sources searched: SBA Pro-Life America, campaign website (jjr.vote) — 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

Campaign's stated priorities (per Cat3 research) include "fight to lower costs" generally, but no specific PBC-relevant housing/insurance policy proposal was located this session.

Sources:
  • jjr.vote — campaign priorities — 2026-08-26

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

`[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
  • All eight metrics scored neutral (3) per the No Stated Position protocol; campaign messaging consistently centers on public safety, cost-of-living, and anti-corruption themes (per Cat3) rather than the national-issue framework used in this category.
  • Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate.

Other candidates in this race — Florida Attorney General

James Uthmeier (REP)View the full Florida Attorney General race page →

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