Democrats are facing chaos in Cuban-heavy South Florida House districts heading into the 2022 midterms.
“Without question it is definitely frustrating,” Miami-based Democrat consultant Ben Pollara told Politico. “These are going to be ultra-competitive seats that you will need to raise a lot of money for. I’ve been telling people to get in as soon as you can.”
“I do think there is to some degree just a hangover after the f—ing shellacking we [Democrats] took here in 2020, and all the drama that came after the election,” he explained about Democrats’ lack of interest in challenging 2022 Republicans.
Ray Paultre, executive director of The Alliance, a group of far-left Florida donors, stated Democrat leaders are ignoring the problems Democrats face in Florida.
“National leaders, entities, and organizations have not signaled that Florida is a priority,” said Paultre. “In fact, they have signaled the opposite.”
The challenge South Florida Democrats are facing is forcing defeated Democrat Rep. Donna Shalala, 80, to consider challenging 2020 winner Rep. María Salazar (R-FL).
“Plenty of money will be available for these races on the Democratic side, but our big and small donors will not be focused until fall,” Shalala also told Politico about her potential race.
The Democrat party’s challenges in South Florida presumably stem from concerns over the Democrat party allegedly supporting communism during a time when the Cuban people are rising up for freedom from the oppressive Communist Cuban regime.
Cuban-Americans have also joined Cuban people in protest in South Florida, adding to the dilemma for the Democrats. On July 11, hundreds of people in Miami, Florida, “packed SW 8th Street in Little Havana in solidarity with the growing protests in Cuba Sunday,” NBC6 reported.
“Democrats are struggling to find a unified message on Cuba,” the Miami Herald admitted Monday. Some far-left Democrats “have called for an end to the American embargo against the island nation, arguing it has worsened conditions for Cubans while doing little to chip away at the government’s power.”
The Democrats’ solution to enable the Cuban regime is opposed by Republicans, who believe the best way to enable freedom in Cuba is to provide them with internet access. Florida Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rick Scott (R-FL) are heavy advocates of such a plan.
Meanwhile, Carlos A. Gimenez (R-FL) and Salazar, both defeating Democrats in then-blue districts, “continue to stockpile cash to defend the seats they won during the 2020 election cycle that saw Republicans once again dominate Florida.”