Chatter and music echoed through Cafe Voltaire in downtown Gainesville Sunday evening as staff and supporters gathered for Mike Klein’s campaign event.
Klein is a 59-year-old independent U.S. congressional candidate for Florida’s 3rd District, which encompasses North Central Florida including Gainesville and Ocala. He is a fifth-generation Floridian who grew up in Gainesville before attending the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, and joining the U.S. Army.
Klein will face incumbent Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., and Democratic candidate Seth Harp at the polls Nov. 3.
Klein’s campaign rally celebrated International Peace Day a day early, featuring a Filipino food truck serving favorites like lumpia and adobo. It also offered a glimpse into the candidate’s priorities and promises.
During his speech, Klein outlined three of his goals if elected: eradicating the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, supporting immigration reform and investing in the United Nations.
“We need to abolish ICE, period,” Klein said. “ICE is an abomination.”
The independent candidate also said immigration reform has received bipartisan support. While Klein has not publicly laid out details of an immigration reform proposal, his campaign website reflects his support of due process rights and investment in law enforcement agencies.
He also reflected on the $1.3 billion the U.S. owes the U.N. Klein said while the U.S. hasn’t paid off its debt, it has invested $38 billion in the war with Iran.
The U.S. paid the U.N. $725 million Wednesday to help ease its debt, according to Reuters.
“To me, it's insane,” Klein said. “To invest in peace, we need to invest in the United Nations."
Klein said his perspective on peace and international relations stems from his time in the U.S. Army.
He said he’s witnessed the effects of war firsthand, having watched his brother recover from injuries sustained during an attack in Afghanistan. The experience cemented his commitment to supporting military and veteran healthcare, he added.
This commitment has translated into his role as chairman and co-founder of Warrior Centric Health, he said, an organization that strengthens care for veterans, military families and caregivers.
He also spoke about his time managing the presidential campaign of former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, in 2007. Klein said that was when he noticed the common ground between voters of different political parties.
“I stopped seeing the political environment as left and right,” Klein said. “I saw it more through the lens of exploitation by powerful interests in our country, getting both alleged sides to fight with each other when they had many of the same common interests.”
It's going to take a coalition of “common sense” to create change in the current political system, Klein said. The Democratic and Republican parties are not going to fix themselves, he added.
He also stressed his support for his district and priority to ensure smaller municipalities are represented — like Newberry and Alachua.
“The rural communities in this country have been abandoned by both parties for 50 years,” Klein said, “and there are many communities in this district that could receive significantly greater amounts of support from their elected officials in Washington.”
If elected, he said, he plans to hire a full-time economic development expert to help small towns apply for federal funding.
Klein’s wife and campaign manager, Sonia Klein, also attended the event. The two have been married for more than 30 years and have previously collaborated on political campaigns.
The 58-year-old said while her husband has always been a leader, he didn’t consider running for office until his frustration with the political climate hit its breaking point.
“He's never had it in his head that he was going to be a politician,” Sonia said. “But in my heart, I knew it was gonna happen one day.”
Sonia said instead of leaning on social media, the campaign team has prioritized in-person stops at local festivals and small towns, allowing Mike to speak directly with residents.
The campaign’s day-to-day operations rely on its volunteers and interns like 21-year old Rose Fortson, a politics and international relations alumna from the University of London.
Fortson manages the campaign’s social media, edits videos and tables on campus tabling. She said she became involved with Klein’s campaign after meeting him through her father, who’s also a United States Military Academy alumnus, and by working with him on agricultural policy.
While tabling at UF, Fortson said she heard many college students express a lack of faith with the two-party system, making them more open to independent candidates.
As of Aug. 31, almost one quarter of registered Florida voters have no party affiliation. In Alachua County, unaffiliated voters make up about 23% of the electorate, according to the Florida Division of Elections
“I believe in [being] able to vote and think and speak freely aside party affiliation,” Fortson said.
Klein’s UF visit isn’t over yet. He will be hosting another event Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the Reitz Union with former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich.
Contact Ray Garcia at rgarcia@alligator.org. Follow him on X @raygarciafl.
Ray Garcia is a first-year Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law and Public Relations double major at UF, serving as this fall's K-12 education reporter. This is Ray's first semester at The Alligator. Outside of writing for The Alligator, you can often find him spending time with friends, reading, listening to music, or sidequesting around Gainesville.
