Theres nothing subtle about the strategies being employed in the South Florida congressional race between Joe Garcia and Carlos Curbelo. Both candidates are going on the offensive and ignoring their opponents attacks.
Garcia, one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the nation, thought he had struck political gold last week when a video surfaced of Curbelo speaking at George Washington University. In his remarks, Curbelo compared Social Security and Medicare to a Ponzi scheme, insisting that with people living longer, younger Americans are paying into programs that probably wont be around when they are seniors.
Democrats quickly went on the attack. Garcia and his allies pounded Curbelo for the remarks. Before this video came out last week, Garcia and the Democrats had focused their attacks on Curbelos lobbying background and trying to tie him to Rick Scott on education.
Instead of defending or explaining his remarks, Curbelo simply turned his fire back on Garcia. On Monday, the Curbelo camp looked back to 2012 when Garcia was running against Republican incumbent David Rivera. Back then, Garcia trashed Rivera on ethics and scandals, promising he would focus more on constituent issues instead of his legal defense.
The Curbelo team used the occasion to point out all of Garcias recent scandals, including his former chief of staff doing jail time for his role in a voter fraud scandal back in the 2012 election. For their part, the Garcia team hasnt really focused on trying to defend their candidate on the issue, preferring to try to redirect the conversation to Curbelos lobbying.
Both sides are turning to outside groups and the national parties to help out in the expensive Miami media market. Various PACs, both on the left and on the right, add to the aggressive tone of this campaign battle as they start running attack ads over the airwaves. The NRCC and the DCCC are also doing their part, flooding the market with even more attack ads.
Both Garcia and Curbelo have interesting stories which sometimes shine through the mud being thrown. Despite his gaffe at a Google hangout this year when he said communism works, Garcia is the son of exiles who fled the Castro regime. During his time at the PSC and in the Obama administration, Garcia focused on energy, one of the most important issues in modern politics. For his part, Curbelo, who like his rival is also the son of exiles from the Castro tyranny, is a rising star for Republicans who might be able to offer the GOP a pathway to win younger Hispanic voters. With his background on the Miami-Dade School Board, Curbelo could also help Republicans with education and school management issues.
But the candidates backgrounds will be on the back burner. One of only two really competitive congressional races in Florida, this looks like itll turn into a mud-flinging contest. With six weeks to go, South Florida residents should brace themselves for even more attacks.
Tallahassee-based political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this analysis exclusively for Sunshine State News.
