Florida Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Josh Weil announced Thursday that, due to health concerns, he is dropping out of the party primary to challenge Republican Ashley Moody next year.
“In 2021 and 2022, I was hospitalized on multiple occasions due to a condition called Rhabdomyolysis,” Weil said in a written statement. “In the last few weeks traveling across the state, I noticed an increase in symptoms associated with my hospitalizations. After discussion with my family, I have decided to focus on my health first and foremost.”
Rhabdomyolysis is a rare condition in which the muscles break down following an injury or excessive exercise without rest, according to the Cleveland Clinic. It can be life threatening.
“Florida deserves a US Senator who can fight for them 100% of the time,” Weil said. “I do not wish to hold that seat if I cannot give them that 100% that they deserve. My hope is by bowing out this early in the cycle, another staunch progressive enter the race and be successful [sic]. I trust that both my run for the special election and for Senate has demonstrated to everyday working Americans that they can make a difference by running for office in their communities.”
Weil, 40, announced his candidacy for the Senate seat last month. An Orlando educator, he made national news for raising around $15 million in a special congressional election against Republican Randy Fine in Florida’s Sixth District in April. Alhough he lost to Fine by 14 points, the result surprised political observers, who noted that Republican Mike Waltz had won the same congressional seat last November by 33 points.
Weil had boasted that not only would he run a competitive race and raise tens of millions of dollars needed to compete against Moody next year, but also that he intended to raise $10 million for voter registration efforts across the state, with a particular interest in Miami-Dade and Pinellas counties.
“We are committing to invest $1 million in the field, for every congressional district in this state, to make sure that we carry the message to voters where they are, in every district in every county, in ways that our party has been unable to cycle after cycle,” he said in Clearwater in May.
Weil’s withdrawal focuses attention on former Brevard County School Board member Jennifer Jenkins, who told the Phoenix last week that she was “seriously considering” entering the race.
“Josh made the choice that felt right for him,” Jenkins told the Phoenix Thursday in a text message. “It doesn’t change the conversations I’ve been having or the work I’ve been doing. I’ve been seriously weighing this because I believe Floridians deserve a Senator who actually shows up and I won’t stop fighting for what this state could be. It definitely makes the path smoother.”
Another potential candidate is retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, whose testimony before Congress helped lead to President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial. He’s now a resident of Broward County and has told reporters recently that he is considering entering the contest.