Tuesday Is Primary Day In Florida-- Can Progressives Win?

Tuesday is primary day in Florida and-- thanks to ActBlue-- it isn't too late to help progressive champions like Alan Grayson and Tim Canova overcome steep odds and beat the corrupt establishment candidates they're battling. Both Grayson and Canova are in the midst of intense Get Out the Vote efforts right now-- as are Blue America's other candidates in the state-- and any contributions made this weekend will go right into those efforts. Just tap on the handy Florida thermometer at the bottom on this post.

Meanwhile a pro-Wasserman Schultz SuperPAC-- the so-called Patriot Majority-- funded by a crooked hedge-fund criminal and by the Big Sugar interests poisoning Florida's environment, is flooding the district with an endless stream of anti-Canova smears-- $635,793 reported spent so far-- including mailings like this:

Wasserman Schultz garbage clogging up everyone's mail box

About 10% of the voters in the Broward/Miami-Dade district are African Americans and both the community newspapers have endorsed Canova against an absentee congresswoman who never acknowledges their community even exists except during election season.

Leslie Wimes, founder and president of the Democratic African American Women's Caucus, said the newspapers' endorsements prove not all eligible voters in the district are Wasserman Schultz's condo commandos. And she shouldn't count on victory Aug. 30.

"It's unfortunate that Debbie Wasserman Schultz and others like her feel that, rather than actually engaging with the black community, all she has to do is present other black people to secure our votes.

"We need representatives who are going to be accessible and present all the time, not just at election time," Wimes said. "That is not Debbie Wasserman Schultz. I'm glad the Westside Gazette and the Miami Times recognize that. I hope the voters will as well and vote for Tim Canova."

This is what the influential Miami Times said when then endorsed Canova:

Newcomer Tim Canova has mounted a strong challenge to unseat incumbent Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Wasserman Schultz is seeking the Democratic nomination to run for a seventh term. A law professor at Nova Southeastern University, Canova has made inroads with voters, saying that he has fresh ideas and would pay more attention to the eastern part of the district. It is an uphill battle for Canova, since Wasserman Schultz has the backing of President Obama and name recognition. He has support from Bernie Sanders, and has more campaign money than Wasserman Schultz. For his campaign, he is putting forth the “New Deal” for this generation. He wants the federal government to subsidize salaries for schoolteachers and he wants to expand the Social Security Income program. Wasserman Schultz, the outgoing Democratic National Committee chair, has held office since 2005, and previously served in the state House. She is supported by the Congressional Black Caucus and numerous other Democratic organizations. But residents in Hollywood, Dania Beach and surrounding areas say that Wasserman Schultz ignores their needs. Because of leaked e-mails by WikiLeaks, it was revealed that Wasserman Schultz favored Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination over Sanders. As chair, she should not take sides. She resigned as chair at the Democratic National Convention. Just as the DNC has new leadership, we believe the district deserves new leadership, too. Canova has been releasing ads that question Wasserman Schultz’s record. Perhaps he should use the airtime to focus on himself and why he is the better choice. But from what we know of him, the Miami Times recommends Tim Canova.