U.S. House, District 21
Represents Florida's 21th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives; votes on federal laws and spending. Term: 2 years.
Partly verified. Either the November opponent could not be confirmed from available sources, or only a few positions are documented. Confirm the full candidate list on your county sample ballot; unknown positions are shown as such.
How we verified who is on the ballot
Roster from CBS12 (James Martin wins Democratic primary; Mast unopposed) and Ballotpedia (Robert Ott, NPA, in general election). County makeup under the 2026 map was not captured in search snippets (the pre-2026 district covered Martin and St. Lucie counties and part of Palm Beach County).
Candidates
Brian Mast
Brian Mast, an Army veteran who lost both legs in Afghanistan, has served in the U.S. House since 2017 (first in the 18th District, then the 21st after 2022 redistricting) and chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He was unopposed in the Aug. 18, 2026 Republican primary.
James Martin
James Martin, 33, is a fourth-generation Floridian, U.S. Coast Guard veteran and former White House national security aide who served as chief of staff for national security affairs and executive secretary in the Office of the Vice President during the Biden-Harris administration. He launched his campaign against Rep.…
Robert Ott
Robert Ott is an educator with a doctorate, an author, and a former mortgage loan officer and assistant vice president at The Bank of New York and Citigroup, with more than 20 years in finance and public education. He launched a no-party-affiliation bid for the 21st District promising 'real, workable solutions' and is…
Side-by-side on the major issues
Each row is a statement. The chips show how each candidate's stated positions or record relate to that statement. Expand a row to read the evidence and sources. "No public position found" means we could not find a statement or record on the topic, not that the candidate has none.
| Issue | Brian Mast Republican | James Martin Democratic | Robert Ott No Party Affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Strongly agrees· based on record Mast voted for H.R. 1 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) on final passage in July 2025. The law made the 2017 individual tax-rate cuts permanent and added new deductions while reducing projected federal spending on Medicaid and SNAP. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | No public position found | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position Ott supports curbing institutional real-estate speculation, increasing transparency in property ownership, and ensuring teachers, nurses, first responders and first-time homebuyers have fair access to housing. |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | Strongly agrees· based on record Mast voted for the Laken Riley Act (mandatory federal detention of unauthorized immigrants arrested for theft and certain other offenses) in January 2025 and for H.R. 1, which appropriated funds for border-wall construction, Border Patrol hiring and expanded immigration detention and removal operations. Sources: S.5 - Laken Riley Act (119th Congress) - Congress.gov (2025-01-29) · House Roll Call 23 (S. 5, Laken Riley Act, Jan. 22, 2025) -… (2025-01-22) · H.R.1 - One Big Beautiful Bill Act (119th Congress) - Congr… (2025-07-04) · House Roll Call 190 (final passage of H.R. 1, July 3, 2025)… (2025-07-03) | Leans disagree· stated position Martin says the immigration system should be overhauled to be 'safe, fair, transparent, and humane': investing in immigration judges to clear asylum backlogs, ending the use of enforcement 'as a political weapon,' creating a workable path to legal status for long-term residents and fixing the visa system. | No public position found |
| AbortionAbortion should be legal in most cases (Florida's six-week ban should be repealed or loosened). | Leans disagree· stated position Mast identifies as pro-life with exceptions for the life of the mother, rape and incest; he welcomed the overturning of Roe v. Wade and has supported bills barring taxpayer funding of abortion and protecting infants born alive after attempted abortions. No statement on Florida's six-week law was found. | No public position found | No public position found |
| GunsGun laws should be stricter (keep the red-flag law and the age-21 purchase rule; expand background checks) rather than looser (permitless or open carry, lower purchase age). | Mixed / neutral· stated position Mast's record is mixed relative to this statement. After the 2018 Parkland shooting he publicly supported defining and banning new sales of assault-style weapons, more comprehensive background checks, a bump-stock ban and raising the purchase age for certain firearms, while opposing confiscation of legally owned guns. He also describes himself as a strong Second Amendment supporter and is reported to carry an NRA-PVF 'AQ' rating and endorsement in 2026. No 2026 statement on Florida's red-flag law or the 21 purchase age was found. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Health careGovernment should expand its role in health coverage (expand Medicaid in Florida, extend Affordable Care Act subsidies). | Leans disagree· based on record Mast voted for H.R. 1, which added work-reporting requirements and more frequent eligibility checks for Medicaid expansion enrollees and reduced projected federal Medicaid spending. No statement on expanding Medicaid in Florida or extending ACA subsidies was found. | Strongly agrees· stated position Would restore Affordable Care Act subsidies and create a public health-insurance option to increase competition and expand access. | No public position found |
| Social Security & MedicareSocial Security and Medicare benefits must be protected from any cuts, even if that requires more revenue. | Leans agree· stated position Mast's House website says he will not support changing Social Security for current retirees or workers near retirement; he has not addressed benefit changes for younger workers or new revenue. | Strongly agrees· stated position Pledges he 'will never vote to cut Social Security, Medicare, or veterans' benefits.' | No public position found |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Environment & waterProtecting water quality, conservation land and climate resilience should take priority even if it slows development or raises costs. | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position Names clean water one of his two top priorities alongside cost of living. | No public position found |
| Elections & votingVoting should be made easier (mail voting, drop boxes, restoring voting rights) rather than adding new restrictions. | Leans disagree· based on record Mast voted for the SAVE Act (H.R. 22), which would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. No statement on mail voting or drop boxes was found. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Gender identity lawsFlorida's laws restricting gender-affirming care for minors and classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity should remain in place. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Energy & utilitiesGovernment should promote renewable energy and tighten oversight of utility rate increases, even at the expense of fossil-fuel production. | Strongly disagrees· based on record Voted for H.R. 1 (2025), which phased out most Inflation Reduction Act clean-energy tax credits and expanded oil and gas leasing. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Tariffs & tradeTariffs on imported goods are good for the American economy. | No public position found | Strongly disagrees· stated position Says he would push to repeal tariffs he believes are raising consumer prices. | No public position found |
| UkraineThe U.S. should continue military aid to Ukraine. | Leans disagree· stated position As House Foreign Affairs chairman, Mast said in May 2026 he does not expect another U.S. security supplemental for Ukraine 'for $6 billion, $60 billion, or any other amount,' that Europe should take more responsibility because the war is 'in their backyard,' while the U.S. would continue intelligence support and allow weapons sales and transfers; in June 2026 he called a House-passed Ukraine aid and Russia sanctions bill 'unserious' and 'a cudgel to fight against President Trump.' | No public position found | No public position found |
| Trump administrationI approve of the direction of the Trump administration. | Leans agree· stated position Mast criticized a June 2026 Ukraine aid bill as 'a cudgel to fight against President Trump' and, as Foreign Affairs chairman, applauded the administration's U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal. | No public position found | No public position found |
| VeteransExpanding VA services and veterans' benefits should be a top priority. | No public position found | Leans agree· stated position A Coast Guard veteran, he pledges never to vote to cut veterans' benefits; specific VA-expansion proposals were not captured. | No public position found |
Where they sit on the map
Each candidate is placed by the average of their documented stances. It is a summary of the table above, not an extra judgment.
James MartinRobert OttHow the axes are computed
Each axis is the average of a candidate's coded stances (+2 to −2) on a fixed set of statements, so it comes straight from the documented positions and nothing else. A candidate needs at least three documented statements on an axis to be placed.
Economic issues (toward "Smaller government (lower taxes, less spending)"): Taxes & spending (agree), Property taxes (agree), Health care (disagree), Housing affordability (disagree), Property insurance (disagree), Energy & utilities (disagree), Social Security & Medicare (disagree).
Social & legal issues (toward "Conservative side of the statements"): Immigration (agree), Abortion (disagree), Guns (disagree), Education & school choice (agree), Elections & voting (disagree), Crime & policing (agree), Gender identity laws (agree), Marijuana (disagree), Environment & water (disagree), Trump administration (agree).
| Candidate | Economic issues | Social & legal issues |
|---|---|---|
| Brian Mast | 1.00 (4 statements) | 1.00 (5 statements) |
| James Martin | not enough data | not enough data |
| Robert Ott | not enough data | not enough data |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Brian Mast
- House Foreign Affairs Committee chairmanship — Chairs the committee; has backed additional Russia sanctions while opposing new large Ukraine aid packages, and praised the U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement.
- Seniors and Social Security pledge — Pledges not to change Social Security for current retirees or workers near retirement.
- Born-alive and taxpayer-funding abortion bills — Supported legislation to prohibit taxpayer funding of abortion and add protections for infants born alive after attempted abortion.
- 2018 assault-weapons position — After Parkland, wrote and said he would support a ban on new sales of assault-style weapons, a bump-stock ban and a higher purchase age.
James Martin
- Cost of living — Says rising costs are the top issue and that Washington has failed to deliver on pocketbook issues; would repeal tariffs he says raise prices.
- Clean water — Lists clean-water concerns as a top priority for the Treasure Coast district.
- Data centers — Discussed data-center development and its local impacts in a long-form campaign interview.
- Accountable representation / democracy — Argues the incumbent has 'turned a blind eye to attacks on democracy at home' and presents himself as a pragmatic Democrat who can win independents and Republicans.
Robert Ott
- Housing affordability and institutional speculation — Wants to curb institutional real-estate speculation and increase transparency in property ownership.
- Economic fairness and constitutional governance — Campaign frames its platform around working families, seniors and small-business owners with 'practical, independent leadership.'