Florida GOP Looks to Put DCCC, Annette Taddeo on the Defensive

Florida Republicans looked to put U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), and a South Florida Democrat on the defensive on Wednesday, demanding an apology for his group’s role in running “straw candidate" Roly Arrojo for Congress in 2010. 

State Rep. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF), Chairman Nelson Diaz of the Republican Party of Miami-Dade County and Chairwoman Debby Goodman of the Monroe County GOP wrote the DCCC chairman on Wednesday and also took shots at former Miami-Dade Democratic Chairwoman Annette Taddeo who is running against U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla. The New Mexico congressman will be in South Florida on Friday for a fundraiser for Taddeo. 

“We are writing to demand that before raising money in Florida you apologize to the hard-working, honest residents of South Florida for your organization’s unethical support of straw candidate Roly Arrojo,” the Republicans wrote Lujan. “The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s efforts to bolster a candidate, who was illegally funded and recruited, with tens of thousands of dollars in campaign mailers, is a direct disregard and harm to the democracy that voters in South Florida value. The residents of South Florida deserve an apology along with a commitment that the DCCC will not support illegal activities with the goal of manipulating elections.

“It’s no secret that the hard-working, honest voters of South Florida were victim to the illegal recruitment and funding of a straw candidate by a Democrat contender and his campaign,” the Republicans wrote Taddeo. “Sadly, rather than condemning the illegal actions, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee played a strong role in supporting straw candidate Roly Arrojo by pouring tens of thousands of dollars into the primary. We call on you to take a clear position on the DCCC’s actions and demand Chairman Lujan apologize to the people of South Florida.

“Refusing to not demand an apology for the DCCC’s efforts surrounding events that led to fraud, scandals, and criminal investigations would establish that your latest run for office is more about your personal desire to get elected, and not about helping the people of South Florida,” the Republicans added.