With U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., bowing out of Congress, Democrats are hopeful about flipping her South Florida seat.
Despite having easily kept her seat during more than a quarter of a century in Congress, Ros-Lehtinen was already drawing attacks from the Democrats who insist her seat is growing more competitive. In 2014, Ros-Lehtinen won reelection without any opposition in the general election. Before that, back in 2012, Ros-Lehtinen routed her Democratic opponent by almost 25 percent. Before 2016, the only time the Democrats held Ros-Lehtinen to less than 60 percent in a general election was in 2008 when Barack Obama first ran for president. That year, Annette Taddeo took 42 percent while Ros-Lehtinen won with 58 percent.
Last year though, after the Florida Supreme Court approved new congressional districts, Democrats made some gains against Ros-Lehtinen. Running against businessman Scott Fuhrman, Ros-Lehtinen took 54.9 percent while her Democratic opponent garnered 45.1 percent. Democrats also did well in the presidential election in this district as Hillary Clinton took 58.6 percent while 39 percent of voters here backed Donald Trump.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) sounded an optimistic note on Sunday after Ros-Lehtinen announced she was retiring, insisting it was “all but guaranteed to be won by a Democrat” come November 2018.
“It's been clear for years that the Republican party was out of step with the values of Miami families, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’s retirement announcement is testament to the fact she recognized how wide that gap had grown,” said Cole Leiter, a spokesman for the DCCC. “As one of the most Democratic districts held by a Republican representative, this district was always going to be competitive. Now it is all but guaranteed to be won by a Democrat who will finally provide the hard working people who live there the representation they deserve. As more vulnerable Republicans recognize the distance between their party and their districts, this retirement could well be the first of many.”
The Florida Democratic Party also weighed in on Sunday.
“It’s not surprising that moderate Republicans are retiring as their party no longer represents American families, but a Trump-style political platform that is divisive and only benefits the politically connected or the very wealthy,” said Johanna Cervone, a spokeswoman for the Florida Democrats. Cervone also pointed to the special election for an open Florida Senate seat in Miami Dade as an opportunity for Democrats. “In the upcoming special elections and on into the 2018 general elections, Democrats are looking forward to a massive turnover in Congress. We are putting forth candidates that will present a better way forward in which a prosperous America means prosperity and good jobs for all of us. Democrats will resist Trump’s Republican Party, their secret backroom deals and will stand against Republican plans to build an American economy that only benefits those at the very top.”
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) did not weigh in on the race but U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, who chairs that group, praised the retiring congresswoman.
“Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is simply a force of nature,” said Stivers. “Her tireless work ethic was only matched by her charismatic personality. She represented her South Florida district well and she will be dearly missed in Washington. I wish her and her family the best. I am confident we will keep this seat red in 2018.”
In the meantime, national pundits are giving the Democrats better odds to win this seat in 2018. Larry Sabato’s Crystal Bill from the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics moved the race from “Likely Republican” to “Leans Democratic” after Ros-Lehtinen announced she would retire.
There could be crowded primaries on both sides of the aisle to replace her. Possible Republican candidates include Lieutenant Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera, Miami Dade County Commissioner Bruno Barreiro, and Rep. Jose Felix Diaz and state Sen. Rene Garcia from the state Legislature.
On the Democratic side, Fuhrman is already running again and he weighed in on Sunday.
"While it is certainly no secret that I have had my policy differences with Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen, I also have tremendous respect for her decades of public service to our country and commend her for the times she has been willing to stand up to her party and particularly to this president,” he said. “With her retirement announcement today, I will continue my campaign for the 27th Congressional District so we can elect a strong Democratic member to the U.S. House to take on Donald Trump and this dysfunctional Republican Congress.”
Fuhrman has been joined by educator Michael Hepburn and Miami Beach City Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez in the hunt for the Democratic nomination. They could be joined by state Reps. David Richardson and Jose Javier Rodriguez from the Legislature and former Miami City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff in the Democratic primary.
