The Tampa Bay Times pegged Carlos Curbelo as one of its “Losers of the Week” in Florida politics on Sunday despite things breaking the Republican congressman’s way in recent days.
Adam Smith from the Tampa Bay Times pointed to Curbelo’s musings that Donald Trump could be a plant for the Democrats, noting his past positions and ties to the Clintons. Curbelo’s scenario is, at best, highly implausible and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) had a field day with it.
But that doesn’t make Curbelo a loser. Smith failed to take into account two other developments from last week which bode well for Curbelo in 2016.
On Thursday, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) mocked former Miami-Dade Democratic Party Chairwoman Annette Taddeo for failing to raise big bucks in the second quarter of 2015 despite having the support of the DCCC and even having its chairman, U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N,M,, host a fundraiser for her.
By the end of June, Taddeo had less than $170,000 in the bank and more than $405,000 of campaign debt. Curbelo had almost $993,500 on hand, a nice advantage in the expensive South Florida media market.
“Annette Taddeo’s dismal fundraising quarter once again proves that the people of South Florida are not supportive of her never-ending runs for office,” said Chris Pack, a spokesman for the NRCC, on Thursday. “Taddeo should be embarrassed that out of all of the DCCC recruits, she pulled in one of the lowest fundraising hauls in the entire country. Maybe she should hang out in her mansion for a few days and regroup.”
Curbelo could be in a prime spot to do even better with fundraising in the months to come. The Florida congressman moved into the U.S. House leadership on Wednesday as U.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., named him to the Republican whip team.
As part of the leadership, Curbelo should be in line for more financial support from the GOP, expanding his war chest in what should be one of the most expensive and competitive congressional races in Florida next year.
Curbelo got a promotion last week while Taddeo, who has failed in her previous bids for elected office, is struggling with fundraising. Not exactly “Loser of the Week” material regardless of his comments on Trump.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
