He is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership and the Climate Solutions Caucus. Mast participating in an overflight assessment with the Coast Guard during Hurricane Irma After this allegedly illegal contribution was discovered and reported by the press, Mast's spokesman said he would disburse the funds to the Treasury Department, but less than two weeks later, Mast said, "I think we donated it to charity." 2020 Between March and June 2018, Mast's campaign received thousands of dollars from Soviet-born Igor Fruman, one of two business associates of Rudy Giuliani who later faced charges of violating federal campaign finance laws.
ĭuring the 2017-18 election campaign, Mast's largest donors were Duty Free Americas and Amway/Alticor (run by the DeVos family).
In the general election, he defeated Democratic nominee Lauren Baer, an attorney and foreign policy expert who served as an official in the Obama Administration, with 54% of the vote. Mast defeated Freeman in the Republican primary. Freeman called Mast an "establishment candidate" and complained about Mast's shift on gun control issues after the Parkland school shooting. On April 25, 2018, physician Mark Freeman announced a primary challenge to Mast, focusing on his promise to "defend the Second Amendment" and be an "unwavering partner" to President Trump. See also: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida § District 18 Guccifer 2.0 had leaked the hacked data to the HelloFLA blog. In 2018, Anthony Bustamante, a campaign consultant who had worked on Mast's 2016 campaign, told The Wall Street Journal that he had used data hacked from the Democratic National Committee by Guccifer 2.0, a front for Russia's GRU military intelligence service, to adjust Mast's campaign strategy. Mast claimed no knowledge of being given a position on the board and said he only had a couple encounters with members of the company. World Patent Marketing donated money to Mast's campaign fund and said in a press release that he sat on their advisory board. In 2016, Mast was briefly linked with World Patent Marketing, a company the Federal Trade Commission shut down as an invention promotion scam. Mast won the general election with 53% of the vote.
ĭuring the 2015-16 election campaign, Mast's largest donors were Duty Free Americas (owned by the pro-Israel Falic family), NextGen Management (a condo property firm), and Superior Foods (frozen foods). Mast faced Democratic businessman Randy Perkins in the November 8 general election. He defeated five opponents in the August 30, 2016, primary with 38% of the vote. Representative in Florida's 18th congressional district. On June 8, 2015, Mast announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for U.S. It was reported in May 2015 that he was considering a run for Congress.
Mast first considered running for office while recovering from his injuries at Walter Reed Medical Center. See also: 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida § District 18 While recovering from his injuries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Mast provided explosive and counter-terrorism expertise to the Office of Emergency Operations at the National Nuclear Security Administration from July 2011 to February 2012, and as an instructor of homemade explosives for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Civilian career Īfter his honorable discharge from the Army, Mast was hired as an explosives specialist for the United States Department of Homeland Security. Mast and his family were awarded a custom ADA-compliant home by the nonprofit organization Helping a Hero. The explosion resulted in the amputation of both his legs and his left index finger. On September 19, 2010, while clearing a path for United States Army Rangers in Kandahar, Mast stepped on an IED along the road. He served in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. Mast later joined the elite 28th Ordnance Company, a special operations explosive ordnance disposal unit that works alongside personnel of the 75th Ranger Regiment. Army and became an explosive ordnance disposal technician. In 2006, he transitioned to the active U.S. Military service Īfter graduating from high school, Mast enlisted in the United States Army Reserve in May 2000 and became a combat engineer assigned to the 841st Combat Engineer Battalion. from Harvard University Extension School with a concentration in economics and minors in government and environmental studies. Mast graduated from South Christian High School in 1999. His maternal grandparents were immigrants from Mexico. He is the son of James Mast and Tixomena Trujillo. Mast was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan.