Businessman Scott Fuhrman announced on Monday that he will seek a rematch with U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., in 2018.
While she has been in Congress for almost three decades, Ros-Lehtinen could be vulnerable in 2018 due to changes in the district. Last month, pundit Larry Sabato and the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics released its first appraisal of 2018 House races and Ros-Lehtinen’s seat was marked as a possible battleground even as it was classified as “Likely Republican.”
Traditionally, Ros-Lehtinen has kept her seat with ease. In 2014, she won another term without any opposition in the general election. In 2012, she blew out her Democratic challenger by almost 25 percent. Before 2016, only once in recent years did Ros-Lehtinen take less than 60 percent in a general election. Riding Barack Obama’s coattails, Annette Taddeo pulled 42 percent in 2008 but Ros-Lehtinen still pulled 58 percent.
But, after the latest round of congressional redistricting, 2016 offered a different story. Facing Democrat Fuhrman, something of a political unknown when he entered the race, Ros-Lehtinen won by a far less impressive margin. She won with 54.9 percent while Fuhrman claimed 45.1 percent, a closer margin than she has seen in decades. Trump struggled in this South Florida district back in November, taking 39 percent while Democrat Hillary Clinton pulled 58.6 percent here. All of this has given Democrats renewed hopes for picking this seat up in 2018. Already, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and liberal groups have run ads against Ros-Lehtinen as 2018 looms.
Fuhrman, the owner of the Florida Bottling Company, launched his second bid for Congress on Monday.
“I’ve listened to heart-wrenching stories from families across our community who are desperate to see a change in Washington, D.C. I have decided to resume this fight because many of our neighbors are living in fear, and a record number worry that their government is looking out more for well-connected insiders rather than for families like theirs,” Fuhrman said on Monday before taking aim at Ros-Lehtinen. “Meanwhile, my opponent, a longtime incumbent who has lost touch with the needs of her constituents, has shown again and again that she would rather side with D.C. insiders and party leaders over restoring ethics to our nation’s capital. Her recent attempts to moderate her positions to align with our changing district smack of desperation and political expediency.
“Representative Ros-Lehtinen began this session of Congress by voting to undue ethics reform in Congress, preferring instead to continue governing in opacity," Fuhrman continued. “When our county mayor turned his back on thousands of families across our community, Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen couldn’t be bothered to stand up and challenge the Mayor on his efforts to target immigrant families.”
Fuhrman concluded by trying to link to Ros-Lehtinen to other Republicans in Washington, even as she has taken a leading role in opposing President Donald Trump and U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., in their efforts to repeal former President Barack Obama’s federal health care law.
“I will be the voice for families across Miami-Dade who are united in saying that the time has come for change in District 27,” Fuhrman said. “I am running for Congress because when it comes to standing up for the needs of our community and speaking truth to power, I have proven that I will never back down from a fight that is worth fighting. Our current representative spent the last eight years supporting Speaker Ryan’s efforts to undermine health care and the middle class. Now, she’s passively watching as President Trump and his lieutenants endeavor to destroy our environment and erode our civil rights.”
Republican sources have told Sunshine State News that they do not expect Ros-Lehtinen to be in major peril come 2018 but also note that Democrats will be well positioned to pick up this seat if she decides to retire from Congress.
Fuhrman does not have an open shot at the Democratic nomination. Educator and non-profit executive Michael Hepburn is also running for it.
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