MIAMI – Annette Taddeo is abandoning her marketing campaign for governor and can instead challenge Republican Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar.
In an interview with CBS News Miami, Taddeo stated she made the choice following the latest mass shootings.
“We are at a critical point in our country,” Taddeo informed CBS News Miami. “And frankly, I am not going to stand on the sidelines and not go in there and fight, especially after what we saw in Buffalo and Uvalde.”
During the interview, she took direct intention at Salazar, whose first two years in Congress have been marked by controversy and outlandish statements. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she stated she supported direct U.S. navy engagement with Russia declaring, “Freedom is not free.”
She has additionally posted footage of herself holding a colourful piñata exterior the Capitol, when she voted in opposition to the American Rescue Plan – which prolonged unemployment advantages in the course of the pandemic and supplied cash for small companies – declaring the invoice was “socialism.” She additionally voted in opposition to the infrastructure invoice. (After each handed, nonetheless, she attended occasions in Miami taking credit score for the cash spent in her district.)
Salazar claims the media has been infiltrated by “neo-Marxists” and through her preliminary 2020 marketing campaign she falsely pledged that she wouldn’t take a wage as a member of Congress.
Taddeo stated Salazar is out of step with the district.
“This seat has always been represented regardless of party by someone that would bring everyone together, would really look out to represent the community, to work across the aisle, to get things done,” Taddeo stated. “And what we’ve had, frankly, is a demagogue, a liar and an embarrassment and someone that has not even voted in the best interests of our community.”
Taddeo was trailing her two Democratic rivals – Charlie Crist and Nikki Fried – within the major to see who would tackle Governor Ron DeSantis in November. On Monday, she didn’t say who she was supporting within the race. Nor would she reply the query as to whether or not both Crist or Fried had any hope of beating DeSantis – whose ballot numbers stay excessive and has raised greater than $100 million for his marketing campaign.
Taddeo’s transfer to the Congressional race had been extensively rumored for weeks, although her marketing campaign stored insisting she was within the governor’s race to keep.
This shall be Taddeo’s fourth run for Congress. Nevertheless, the race for Florida’s twenty seventh Congressional District, which stretches from Miami Beach to Little Havana and down by way of Kendall, makes extra sense for Taddeo. As a state senator, Taddeo already represents a portion of that district and is well-known within the space.
She can even have to face one other Democrat within the congressional major. Last month, Miami City Commissioner Ken Russell gave up his run for the Democratic nomination for Senate in opposition to Val Demings and jumped into the Salazar race.
Voters will determine in August whether or not it’s Taddeo and Russell will face Salazar in November.Â
The district can also be one of many few congressional districts within the nation that’s evenly break up between Democrats and Republicans and will signify the Democrats finest shot at turning a Republican seat blue in a yr that’s anticipated to closely favor Republicans throughout the nation.
“Indeed, this seat and this race will not be easy,” she admitted. “And I am obviously attracted to tough races. But look, I currently represent a seat that voted for Trump by six points and am very popular in my district. And that is because, again, I truly represent all of my community, whether they voted for me or not and tried to be that voice and that fighter for them. And that’s not what we have right now.”
