The Many Campaigns of Rod Joseph: A Party-Switching Candidate, an Undisclosed Arrest, and What Comes Next

An investigative political profile of Haitian-American candidate Rodenay “Rod” Joseph, examining his campaign finance record, an undisclosed 2023 criminal case in Orange County, and his prospects after losing Florida’s 20th District Republican primary.

Who Is Rod Joseph?

Rodenay Joseph — who goes by “Rod” and, in more recent campaign materials, “Dr. Rod Joseph” — is a Haitian-American immigrant, U.S. Army veteran, and Purple Heart recipient who has, over the past several years, run for elected office in Florida with unusual frequency and across an unusual political range. Public records and his own campaign materials show a candidacy history that includes a run for the Florida House (District 36) as a Democrat, a 2023–2024 run for U.S. Senate as a Democrat, and — after switching parties — a 2025–2026 run for the U.S. House in Florida’s 20th Congressional District as a Republican, campaigning alongside figures like Congressman Byron Donalds at Broward GOP events. He holds degrees including a Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice and Forensics and graduate degrees in Military Studies, History of War, and Diplomacy and International Relations, and describes a 20-year military career that included service as a logistics officer and paralegal NCO.

That trajectory — three different campaigns, for three different offices, under two different party banners, inside of roughly four years — is itself a notable feature of his political profile, suggesting either an unusually persistent commitment to public service or a pattern of opportunistic office-seeking, depending on one’s read. It also means Joseph entered his 2026 congressional bid with a public record spanning multiple campaign finance filings, multiple sets of public statements, and — as this investigation found — at least one significant biographical chapter that does not appear anywhere in his campaign materials.

The Undisclosed 2023 Arrest

Court records from the Orange County Clerk of Courts (Case No. 48-2023-CF-005593-A-O) show that Rodenay Joseph — date of birth January 7, 1978, matching the FEC’s registration for congressional candidate Rod Joseph — was arrested on April 30, 2023, and charged with Aggravated Assault with a Firearm, a third-degree felony under Florida Statute 784.021(1)(A).

According to the arrest affidavit sworn by Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy T. Casto, the incident began just after midnight when Joseph, driving a black GMC truck, allegedly drove erratically and cut off another driver, Lorena Liceaga — a registered nurse who was driving with her adult son — on Orange Blossom Trail. When the two vehicles stopped side by side at a red light, Liceaga, concerned Joseph might be having a medical emergency, attempted to check on him. According to the affidavit, Joseph rolled down his window, pointed a handgun at her, and said, “I will kill you bitch,” before driving off. Liceaga called 911; deputies later located and detained Joseph, recovering a black FNP model 509 9mm handgun. Joseph invoked his right to an attorney but reportedly told deputies spontaneously, before being formally questioned, that he had pulled his gun on Liceaga because he believed she was an “undercover cop.” The affidavit notes Joseph gave inconsistent accounts of his travel route and claimed Liceaga had slapped him, though investigators found no physical evidence supporting that claim.

Joseph was booked without bond initially, then released on a $3,500 surety bond on May 2, 2023. He entered a written plea of not guilty and demanded a jury trial on May 26, 2023. The docket shows a disposition entered and an administrative transfer of the case to county court on June 9, 2023 — typically indicative of a charge being resolved at a reduced level rather than proceeding to felony trial, though the underlying disposition details are not part of the public docket description. Notably, the court record shows an “Order to Expunge,” granted November 8, 2024 — meaning the case was ultimately sealed from public disclosure under Florida law. The presence of these records in the Clerk’s public search system, and their inclusion here, reflects the documents as filed and publicly indexed at the time of this review.

Why this matters for a political profile: none of Joseph’s campaign biographies, websites, or press materials reviewed for this piece reference this arrest, the underlying allegation, or its resolution. For a candidate whose public brand is built substantially around discipline, military honor, and being “The Truth” — a nickname his own materials say he earned in the Army for upholding standards of honesty — a firearm-related threat allegation involving a stranger on a public roadway is the kind of biographical fact voters would reasonably expect to be able to weigh, expunged record or not. Expungement affects a record’s legal disclosure status; it does not erase the fact that the underlying event occurred, was investigated by law enforcement, and was serious enough to result in a felony arrest.

Campaign Finance: Where Rod Joseph’s Money Actually Went

Federal Election Commission data shows the Rod Joseph for Congress Committee (FEC ID C00892570) raised $98,824.74 in individual contributions for the 2026 election cycle, covering the period from January 2025 through late July 2026. An itemized Schedule B disbursement analysis covering 98 recorded transactions shows total itemized spending of $77,952.52. Below are the top 20 recipients by total dollar amount:

A few patterns stand out. First, the largest single disbursement category isn’t voter outreach — it’s the $10,440 candidate qualifying fee paid to the state, followed closely by roughly $14,000 combined in donations to three separate county Republican Party organizations (Broward, Palm Beach, and Martin County). That’s a notable allocation: rather than the party apparatus primarily funding the candidate, a substantial share of Joseph’s own itemized spending flowed to local GOP organizations — a pattern sometimes used by newer or less-established candidates to build goodwill and access within a party they haven’t been affiliated with for very long, relevant given Joseph’s own relatively recent switch from the Democratic to Republican Party. Second, several line items — payments to individuals for canvassing, treasurer work, and fundraising events — represent legitimate, itemized campaign labor, standard practice for grassroots operations. Third, at least one notable line item, the $2,205 payment to Henan Enda New Material Co. Ltd. (a Chinese manufacturing supplier) for yard signs and flyers, illustrates how even small, domestically focused congressional campaigns often source physical campaign materials from overseas manufacturers — a detail worth flagging for any candidate whose platform touches on domestic manufacturing or trade policy, though it is common practice across the political spectrum.

What’s Next for Rod Joseph After the Primary Loss

Joseph’s 2026 run for Florida’s 20th Congressional District ended in defeat in the August 18, 2026 Republican primary, where he was unable to secure the nomination against a crowded four-candidate GOP field that included eventual nominee Brent Andersen, Navy veteran Carla Spalding, and Lateresa “LA” Jones — in a historically Democratic district where, per earlier reporting, Joseph’s roughly modest fundraising (relative to the $98,824.74 now shown in updated FEC filings) was always going to make the race an uphill climb regardless of the primary outcome.

Given Joseph’s documented pattern — three campaigns for three different offices across two parties since 2022 — the most likely near-term paths are fairly predictable for a candidate with his profile: a return to political consulting (he has operated RJ Political Consultant Firm, LLC, describing himself as a “diplomat, problem solver, and public and cultural diplomacy expert”), continued community organizing and public speaking within Broward’s Haitian-American community, or another candidacy in a future cycle — potentially for a state legislative seat, a local office, or another federal run should district lines or political circumstances shift again. His pattern of frequent candidacies suggests he is unlikely to exit electoral politics entirely; the more relevant question for any future campaign is whether the 2023 arrest record — thus far absent from his own public narrative — becomes a factor voters and opposing campaigns weigh the next time his name appears on a ballot.

This investigation is based on Orange County Clerk of Courts public records, Federal Election Commission Schedule B disbursement data for the Rod Joseph for Congress Committee (C00892570), and publicly available campaign biographical materials. Florida law governs the disclosure and use of expunged criminal records; this report reflects only what is documented in the court’s own public docket system as reviewed. This report does not draw conclusions about guilt, and it should be noted the underlying charge did not proceed to felony conviction based on the available docket record.