Clay County voters choose their representative in Congress on Tuesday, Nov. 3, picking among four candidates for Florida's 4th Congressional District.

Republican incumbent Aaron Bean, 59, faces Democrat LaShonda "L.J." Holloway, 56, Florida Forward Party candidate Mike Sell, 42, and no-party-affiliation candidate Todd Schaefer, 47. The district covers all of Clay and Nassau counties and parts of Duval County west and north of the St. Johns River, according to News4JAX's voter guide.

Early voting in Clay County ran Oct. 23 through Oct. 31, according to Clay Today. Election Day polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Unofficial results will be posted at FloridaElectionWatch.gov.

Aaron Bean

Bean, a former Fernandina Beach city commissioner and mayor, was elected to Congress on Nov. 8, 2022, according to his congressional office. He served eight years in the Florida House and 10 years in the Florida Senate, where he was president pro tempore. He holds a B.S. in finance from Jacksonville University.

His wife, Abby, is a fifth-generation Clay Countian, according to his News4JAX questionnaire response.

Bean sits on the House Committee on Ways and Means and founded the Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus, according to his official House biography. He listed inflation and cost of living, health care access and border security as his top issues in the News4JAX questionnaire. He pointed to the "Working Families Tax Cut" and the Rescissions Act of 2025, which he said rescinds $9 billion in federal spending.

Clay and Nassau county firefighter unions endorsed Bean in May, Florida Politics reported. Jasen Hernandez, president of Clay County Professional Fire Fighters IAFF Local 3362, credited Bean with being willing to "listen to the concerns of frontline firefighters regarding staffing, overtime, cancer prevention, mental health, and public safety funding."

Bean ran unopposed in the Republican primary. He won the seat by about 14.5 percentage points in 2024, according to Election Wrld. Florida Politics reported in August that Bean raised more than $2 million this cycle.

LaShonda Holloway

Holloway, a Jacksonville native, earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Florida College of Law and lists her occupation as a Supreme Court mediator and arbitrator, according to the News4JAX guide. She also completed post-graduate studies at Harvard University's School of Public Health.

She was the Democratic nominee against Bean in 2022 and 2024, according to First Coast News. She won the Aug. 18 Democratic primary over two opponents.

Her campaign website lists education, health care and community investment as priorities. She worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and for former U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek's office, according to her News4JAX questionnaire response.

Mike Sell

Sell, 42, has never held elected office. He describes himself as an operational excellence professional with more than 20 years in the U.S. health care industry, according to his News4JAX questionnaire response. He holds Six Sigma Black Belt and Shingo Operational Excellence Assessor credentials.

In a September interview on the Clay News and Views podcast, Sell described himself as a Florida native running in a district that spans "from Fernandina Beach to Green Cove Springs." He said he takes no corporate money.

His stated priorities are cost of living, health care access and what he called "a government that has stopped listening," according to his News4JAX response. His grandfather served 26 years in the Navy, and his father retired from Naval Air Station Jacksonville, according to the same questionnaire.

Todd Schaefer

Schaefer, 47, is a retired U.S. Navy veteran with no prior political experience, according to his News4JAX response. He listed fiscal transparency, housing costs and health care reform as his top issues.

He proposed an "American Prosperity Card Act" to bring transparency to federal spending. On housing, he called for closing what he described as a straight-line depreciation loophole used by landlords. On health care, he supports expanding Medicare to a public option.

What's on the ballot locally

The district's boundaries did not change during the 2026 mid-decade redistricting, according to election records. The district map is 41% Republican and 34% Democrat, Florida Politics reported.

Clay County voters will also decide a Board of County Commissioners District 2 race between Leroy Edwards and Lolita Smoak, along with state constitutional amendments, according to Clay Today. Polls close at 7 p.m.