Charleston Malkemus

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Charleston Malkemus

No Party Affiliation

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

University of Pennsylvania

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Marine Corps

Personal

Religion

Catholic

Profession

Technology leader

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Charleston Malkemus (No Party Affiliation) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Florida's 21st Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Malkemus completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Charleston Malkemus obtained a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 2000. His professional experience includes working an architect and technology leader with Capital One. He has also worked as an entrepreneur, software engineer, architect, and multi-time chief technology officer (CTO).

Elections

2020

See also: Florida's 21st Congressional District election, 2020

Florida's 21st Congressional District election, 2020 (August 18 Republican primary)

Florida's 21st Congressional District election, 2020 (August 18 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 21

Incumbent Lois Frankel defeated Laura Loomer, Charleston Malkemus, Sylvia Caravetta, and Piotr Blass in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 21 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lois Frankel (D)	59.0	237,925
		Laura Loomer (R)	39.1	157,612
		Charleston Malkemus (No Party Affiliation)	1.9	7,544
	Submit photo	Sylvia Caravetta (No Party Affiliation) (Write-in)	0.0	8
		Piotr Blass (R) (Write-in)	0.0	4

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 403,093
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Stephen Canton (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 21

Incumbent Lois Frankel defeated Guido Weiss in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 21 on August 18, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lois Frankel	86.0	75,504
		Guido Weiss	14.0	12,308

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 87,812
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Adam Aarons (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 21

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 21 on August 18, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Laura Loomer	42.5	14,526
		Christian Acosta	25.5	8,724
		Michael Vilardi	12.3	4,194
	Submit photo	Aaron Scanlan	9.4	3,221
		Elizabeth Felton	7.1	2,421
		Reba Sherrill	3.1	1,070

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 34,156
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Michael Bluemling Jr. (R)
• Victor Garcia da Rosa (R)

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Charleston Malkemus completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Malkemus' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Charleston is an engineer, entrepreneur, and Marine Corps Major. Raised by a single hard working mother with his two older sisters, he learned very early the values of hard work, sacrifice, determination, and faith. He earned multiple honors as a Scholar-Athlete attending the Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, where he led his swim team to two Florida state runner-up titles. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and fought in two combat tours, leading Scout Sniper and Force Reconnaissance Marines. Charleston is also a technology startup veteran, who programs in multiple technologies throughout the "stack". He is passionate about paving the way for Americans to pursue their dreams through entrepreneurship and innovation. He co-developed the Veteran's Trust for transitioning Veterans, held a 81-mile commemorative walk from Palm Beach to Miami, and testified before the US Congressional Small Business Committee on Veteran entrepreneurs. We have the smartest, most innovative, and hard working people on the planet. We can tackle challenges in Healthcare, Housing, Education, Climate, and get us out of this Crisis, unlocking the limitless potential of an innovative America.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• We have the smartest, most innovative, and hard working people on the planet. We can unleash the innovative potential of America to solve any problem.
• We need to return American families to their lives. We still have a long road ahead to get out of this Crisis and many dangerous decisions headed our way. We need leaders with real operational experience to navigate us through this and save lives.
• I will never put party politics above Americans. If we do not rise together to end the hatred and extreme partisan politics, then will fall a part.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Healthcare, housing, education, child care, and climate change present huge opportunities for us in growth and innovation. We can lead the world in tackling these challenges, paving the way for a stronger, more efficient, and an innovative America. The American spirit is creative, resourceful, and alive. We have the ability to unlock the limitless potential of our Country and people. But, we must get out of this Crisis. We have a long road ahead before we can return American families to their lives and many dangerous decisions headed our way. We need a cohesive national strategy. At a time when we should be coming together, America is being divided through extreme partisan politics. We need to end the hatred and tackle the multiple crises hurting our Nation head on.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

George Washington. He was not a politician. He brought people together before there was even a national identity and served them selflessly. He fought for the independence and freedoms of all. He advocated against the divisive nature of partisan politics, putting every citizen first. When he could have declared himself a king, he chose to relinquish power and allow other people to rise up.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Frederic Bastiat, The Law. The purpose of government is to guarantee freedoms and is limited to that end.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Protect peoples rights, freedoms and opportunities.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Atlas Shrugged.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

No. I do not believe in career politicians. Political leaders should work alongside experienced government workers that have the context and knowledge to administer the government. Creative thinking, courage, and leadership is rarely cultivated through insider experience.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Skyrocketing costs in Healthcare, Education, Housing, and Child Care are crippling American's quality of life.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

Committee on Ways and Means
Joint Economic Committee
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
Committee on Natural Resources
Committee on Homeland Security
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on Energy and Commerce
Committee on Education and Labor

Committee on Armed Services

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I support term limits. This country was never intended to have career politicians.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2020 Elections

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Government

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External links

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Footnotes

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Florida's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Ashley Moody (R)

Rick Scott (R)

Representatives

District 1

Vacant

District 2

Neal Dunn (R)

District 3

Kat Cammack (R)

District 4

Aaron Bean (R)

District 5

John Rutherford (R)

District 6

Vacant

District 7

Cory Mills (R)

District 8

Mike Haridopolos (R)

District 9

Darren Soto (D)

District 10

Maxwell Frost (D)

District 11

Daniel Webster (R)

District 12

Gus Bilirakis (R)

District 13

Anna Luna (R)

District 14

Kathy Castor (D)

District 15

Laurel Lee (R)

District 16

Vern Buchanan (R)

District 17

Greg Steube (R)

District 18

Scott Franklin (R)

District 19

Byron Donalds (R)

District 20

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D)

District 21

Brian Mast (R)

District 22

Lois Frankel (D)

District 23

Jared Moskowitz (D)

District 24

Frederica Wilson (D)

District 25

Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D)

District 26

Mario Diaz-Balart (R)

District 27

Maria Elvira Salazar (R)

District 28

Carlos Gimenez (R)

Republican Party (20)

Democratic Party (8)

Vacancies (2)