Even as congressional redistricting remains up in the air in Florida, congressional candidates in the southern part of the state are trying to pin national leaders on each other.
Freshman U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., is expected to face a competitive race next year as former Miami-Dade Democratic Party Chairwoman Annette Taddeo, best known for her role as former Gov. Charlie Crist’s running mate last year, runs against him.
Roy Schultheis from Curbelo’s team looked to fire up supporters against Taddeo on Wednesday by linking her to the two leading Democratic presidential candidates and U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
“Did you hear what Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders said during the debate last night?" Schultheis asked supporters in an email on Wednesday. “The policies discussed last night are not good for America and they are not good for South Florida. This is exactly why we need principled members of Congress like Carlos Curbelo -- to stand up for South Florida. The thing is, Carlos has already been singled out as Nancy Pelosi’s top target for 2016. She’s going to spend millions to beat Carlos next year, and it’s going to be a tough fight.
“Nancy Pelosi can’t wait to have another rubber stamp in Congress, and she’ll do anything to make sure Annette Taddeo wins next year,” Schultheis added.
Taddeo’s team fired back on Wednesday afternoon by noting that Curbelo has been a supporter of outgoing U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
“Speaker John Boehner has lost a lot of allies in the House since his sudden retirement announcement last month,” Taddeo’s team emailed their supporters. “But our opponent, Congressman Carlos Curbelo is standing by him, saying, he’s ‘very happy with the current speaker.’
“Maybe it’s the cushy leadership position Speaker Boehner gave Curbelo -- or maybe it’s the millions in campaign cash Boehner helped funnel into Curbelo’s campaign,” Taddeo’s camp added. “Regardless, it’s clear Curbelo supports the way the House has been operating for the last five years. That’s unacceptable and not the leadership South Florida deserves.
“The American people deserve better than the radical House Republican agenda,” Taddeo’s team continued. “In the last year, Speaker Boehner and Congressman Curbelo’s radical GOP caucus voted to gut Medicare and Social Security, attacked women's health rights, and threatened government shutdowns. What part of this extreme agenda does Curbelo support the most? Congressman Curbelo likes things the way they are in Washington -- despite South Florida voters saying the opposite.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
