After the latest round of redistricting, Annette Taddeo looked to be a big winner as she continues her bid to take down Florida Republican Congressman Carlos Curbelo. But the end of last week offered a few potential stumbling blocks for her.
Taddeo should be flying high. The DCCC chairman is in her corner and the national party has been active in taking aim at Curbelo, including running radio ads against him earlier this month. With the Florida Supreme Court using the League of Women Voters’ map in congressional redistricting, Curbelo, who already represented a swing district, now has to defend in an area where Democrats have an advantage.
But Taddeo got some bad news at the end of last week. The Miami Herald reported that businessman Andrew Korge was looking at jumping in the Democratic primary, shifting his focus from a state Senate bid in 2020 to run for Congress. Korge’s family has deep ties with the Democrats and his father Chris is a major backer of Hillary Clinton. Taddeo can’t be happy with that news though it’s tough to imagine the Clinton camp will get involved in a primary contest in the key swing state of the 2016 presidential election.
The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) quickly showcased the potential new candidate, insisting it shows how weak Taddeo is.
“It’s no surprise that with Annette Taddeo’s remarkable record of losing campaigns and extended history of being a bad candidate that she will probably be facing a primary challenger," Wadi Gaitan, a spokesman for the RPOF, said after the news broke.
But there was another nugget in the Miami Herald story. Joe Garcia, who held the seat for a term before losing to Curbelo last year, is still considering getting in the race. Like Taddeo, Garcia has a history of running for office without much success though he did defeat David Rivera, who was hobbled by scandals, in 2012. Garcia, again like Taddeo, chaired the Miami Dade Democrats and he can also expect some support from the party organization.
Chances are one or perhaps both of these challenges won’t materialize. Certainly, Taddeo can’t be happy that two major Democratic candidates are at least looking at the race as the district grows more favorable to them. Plenty of Democrats are high on Taddeo and she does have some strengths as a candidate. But Taddeo does have a history of electoral defeats and the emergence of two potential primary rivals shows Democrats could be hedging their bets on her in what should be a good pickup opportunity for them.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
