Democracy At Stake In South Florida

A famous poem by T.S. Eliot states that the world would not end with a bang, but with a whimper. Well, it looks like that is how democracy could end as well. If you listen carefully, you can hear that whimper being carried to your ears by a soft, South Florida ocean breeze.

This cycle-- once again-- a battle for the soul of democracy is being waged in Florida.

Florida Senate District 39 stretches from Key West through the Florida Keys and up into South Miami-Dade. It is one of the most diverse districts in the country by almost any measure, with distinct voting blocs comprised of various races, cultures, nationalities, ages, and political affiliations. It is one of the most closely watched and hotly contested state legislative races in the country, by political insiders and corporate interests.

Florida Republicans are desperate to maintain their legislative majority in both state legislative chambers. Senate District 39 is a highly flippable district where the Republican incumbent has termed out. To replace her, the Republicans have cleared the way for Ana Maria Rodriguez. Ana Maria is a career lobbyist who doesn’t live in the senate district. She currently represents a blatantly gerrymandered district that covers slivers of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Collier county on the other side of the Metro. The Republican Party-- and the corporate cronies that fund it-- are supplying Ana Maria with campaign cash by the truckload.

So what does incoming Senate minority leader Gary Farmer do to counter this move by the Republicans? He recruits Javier Fernandez, his own career lobbyist candidate, of course!

The similarities are striking. Like Ana Maria, Javier is a longtime lobbyist for big corporate interests. And he doesn’t live in the district either. And he was recently elected to represent an outlying district before turning carpetbagger for the senate seat.

It gets worse. Javier doesn’t just play nice with Republicans. He gives them money and helps them get elected. His finance records show that he has even given a maximum personal contribution to the REPUBLICAN PARTY OF FLORIDA.

And this is exactly what our corporate overlords dream of. Hiring and grooming lobbyists-- the most distrusted group of people by American voters-- to push their interests at every level in government, then funding their campaigns to help them corrupt our democracy from within. Why even bother using lobbyists to buy off politicians when you can just get the lobbyists elected? Cut out the “middle man!”

But it turns out that Gary Farmer can’t even rig a primary correctly. A Democrat challenger entered the race and he has real connections to the community he’s running to represent. Gary must be pissed.

Meet Daniel Horton-Diaz-- Dan. This guy has connections all over the district and a great personal story. He overcame a childhood of poverty and went to law school in the district. While in school, he was the president of the law school student body and received a ton of awards and recognition for community service. Then, right out of law school, he ran against a Republican incumbent and a status quo Democrat in a state house district that covers the Florida Keys and South Miami-Dade. Just looking through his campaign Facebook pages, you can clearly see he knows how to tell a story (take a look at his 2016 campaign video up top) and speak in public. Plus, he advocates for progressive values without apologizing or waffling.

Even though the other guy grew up in the district and had more money to spend, Dan beat him by double digits. He had less than $25,000 and eventually lost to the Republican incumbent, but she had to spend $500,000 to beat him…and he still beat her in the Miami-Dade portion of the district!

After that loss, Dan dusted himself off and took a job working for State Senator Annette Taddeo in the Florida Senate. He went from there to running a voting rights nonprofit, which enabled him to work with the League of Women Voters to open up an early voting site at his alma mater. Then, he became the district chief of staff to Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in Florida Congressional District 26, which completely overlaps with Florida Senate District 39.

So, you’ve got a guy who: (1) lives in the district, (2) went to law school in the district, (3) ran for office in the district, (4) won a primary in the district, (5) worked in the legislative body that he’s running for, (6) ran a voting rights nonprofit that directly helped the young voters in his district, and then (7 ran the entire congressional district that completely overlaps with the senate district he’s running for.

That sounds like the best candidate that the Florida Democratic Party could dream of. But no., not to the corrupted and inept Florida Democratic establishment whose specialty is losing election after election after election.

No, Dan is not Gary Farmer’s guy, so he's not the "party's" candidate. Javier Fernandez is. And Dan doesn’t have corporate lobbyist money pouring in. Javier Fernandez does.

You see, I think the Democratic Establishment learned a lesson after AOC’s surprise win-- a wrong lesson, but the only one they're capable of learning. If you don’t take out the progressive candidates early, they tend to beat the bought-and-paid-for candidates that the Florida Democrats love to support. Who would have thought?? If you'd like to help restore the roots of Florida democracy, click on the 2020 Blue America state legislative thermometer on the right. As you'll see, the Florida state legislature is becoming quite the battleground for us this cycle... and Dan Horton-Diaz has just become our third insurgent candidate. Please consider giving him-- along with Angie Nixon and Bob Lynch-- a hand.