Former Gov. Charlie Crist went to bat for his old running mate Annette Taddeo on Wednesday and Florida Republicans went on the attack against last year’s Democratic gubernatorial ticket.
Taddeo, the former chairwoman of the Miami-Dade Democrats, is running for the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., and Crist is clearly behind his old political partner.
“My 2014 running mate, Annette Taddeo, has declared her candidacy to be the next Democratic congresswoman from South Florida. I couldn’t be more excited!” Crist emailed supporters on Wednesday. “Many of you were fortunate enough to meet Annette on the campaign trail last year. And if you did, then you know exactly why she’d be such a great representative for Florida’s hard-working families.
“Annette is a successful small-business owner and a working mom,” Crist added. “She’s open-hearted, determined, and hard-working. And when I say hard-working, I’m not kidding: she even started selling oranges from her family’s farm at age 13!
“Annette is running in one of the most competitive districts in Florida and the entire country. But she’s doing it because she understands the everyday struggles facing hard-working South Florida families and is ready to roll up her sleeves and fight for all of us on day one,” Crist insisted. “Annette Taddeo is exactly the leader we need in Congress. And if Democrats are going to be victorious in 2016, we all know that success starts right here in Florida.”
The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) fired away at Taddeo and Crist on Wednesday, including going after Taddeo’s populist poses, which include her previous claim to be “middle class” despite being worth $5.7 million. The RPOF also noted Crist’s past which includes leaving the GOP in 2010 to run for the U.S. Senate with no party affiliation before joining the Democrats in 2012 and running as their gubernatorial candidate last year.
“It is fitting that Charlie Crist, who has a history of putting his political career ahead of Floridians, would write in support of multimillionaire Annette Taddeo," Wadi Gaitan, a spokesman for the RPOF, told Sunshine State News. “Taddeo, who is on her third political attempt, is running in a district that she does not live in and continues to prove that she is focused on advancing her personal political ambitions and not the best interest of South Florida.”
Taddeo also drew fire on another front as Florida Republicans looked to put her and U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), 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 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 Taddeo. 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.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
