The Downward Spiral Continues For Miami Crime Figure David Rivera (R-FL)

Great report on Miami-Dade's most crooked congressman, David Rivera (R-FL), from Rachel Friday night. Great ending for her show. She mentions it but never speculated on where exactly Rivera got those tens of thousands of crisp hundred dollar bills in cash to stuff into envelopes? If that wasn't cocaine trafficking money I'd eat my hat. Rivera has been mixed up with organized crime since he was Deputy Dawg (and roommate in the notorious Tallahassee party house) for Marco Rubio in their state legislature days. You don't hear ole Marco coming to his old pal's aid much these days though. No one wants the taint.

As we reported Thursday, Boehner is urging him to step down and just let the seat go to Democrat Joe Garcia. Rivera's presence on the ballot is endangering other Republicans as well as the party brand. He been sinking in the polls as more and more revelations seep out. The NRCC has cut him loose entirely.

Two separate polls from Republican and Democratic third-party groups have arrived at the same conclusion: Republican U.S. Rep. David Rivera is losing his reelection effort.

Rivera, under separate federal criminal investigations into his personal and campaign finances, trails Democratic challenger Joe Garcia by nine percentage points in a Democratic poll and he’s behind by 10 points in the Republican survey-- just outside the poll’s error margin.

Rivera’s campaign has produced its own survey showing he has an inside-the-error margin lead of four points.

The Republican survey is the newest and most eye-opening because it was conducted Tuesday and Wednesday by a top-flight GOP polling firm with vast experience in Florida: McLaughlin & Associates.

Pollster Jim McLaughlin confirmed the numbers in the poll, but he declined comment and he wouldn’t disclose who paid for the survey obtained by The Herald.

“This is a quality polling firm, and based on the data, it’s very difficult for Rivera to come back,” said political consultant David Custin, who successfully led efforts to defeat Garcia in his previous congressional races in 2010 against Rivera and in 2008 against Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart.

“I don’t want Joe to win,” Custin said. “But this poll makes it look like he will.”

The Republican poll’s numbers aren’t just bad news for Rivera in the new Kendall-to-Key West Congressional District 26 seat.

The survey shows Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney trails President Obama 51-43 percent in the GOP-leaning district, which voted an average four percentage points more Republican compared to the national average for the results of the two prior presidential campaigns. In some ways, the results of this survey shed light on Romney’s struggles in must-win Florida.

...Geography also conspires against Rivera in the race, Custin said. He said the addition of Monroe County to the district hurt Rivera, who lost the more-conservative Collier County to Diaz-Balart when the seats were redrawn this year by the Legislature.

The McLaughlin poll shows Garcia winning by nine points in Miami-Dade and 13 points in Monroe.

The survey showed 19 percent undecided. Another candidate, independent Jose Peixoto, earned 5 percent of the vote. The survey didn’t include the fourth candidate in the race, Angel Fernandez, an independent.

Custin said it’s likely independent voters will break Garcia’s way as more news about the federal investigation into Rivera surfaces.