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September 19th, 2024 Len’s Political Note #672 Lucia Baez-Geller Florida 27
2024 General Election
Lucia Baez-Geller
In 2018, Donna Shalala demonstrated that Florida 27 could be won by a Democrat. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen had announced she would not run again in 2018. She had been elected to represent the district in 1988, the first Cuban American to be elected to Congress and the first female Republican from Florida. Her maternal grandparents were Sephardic Jews who came to Cuba from Turkey. Born in 1952, she was sixty-six when she decided she would not run for Congress again.
Donna Shalala was born in 1941. She was a month shy of being a seventy-seven year-old freshman Member of Congress when she took office after winning the primary by 4 points and the general election by 6. She joined Congress after having had a distinguished career as an academic at Columbia, as President of Hunter College, Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Secretary of the US Health and Human Services Department, President of the University of Miami, and CEO of the Clinton Foundation.
No matter how impressive Donna Shalala’s career had been, the constituents of Florida 27, 75% of whom were Hispanic (mostly Cuban), would not reelect the 78 year old daughter of Lebanese immigrants to a second term in Congress. In a rematch of the 2018 election, Maria Elvira Salazar, a former news anchor for Telemundo who was two decades younger than Shalala, was elected to represent this overwhelmingly Cuban and Hispanic District which included Miami’s Little Havana.
Lucia Baez-Geller is challenging Maria Elvira Salazar. She is the daughter of a Colombian mother and a Cuban father. Her father spent a month in the early 1980s on the grounds of the Peruvian embassy in Havana. He hid and scrounged for food and water as he tried to find a way to get out of Cuba.
Eventually, Lucia Baez-Geller’s father got from the Embassy to Florida. Her parents did not remain together and her mother raised her alone; encouraging her to plan for college. Lucia Baez-Geller graduated in 2005 with a degree to teach English from Spring Hill College, a small Catholic college in Mobile, Alabama. That fall, she began teaching English at Miami Beach High School.
Lucia Baez-Geller earned more degrees and became active in the teachers’ union. She got a Master’s Degree from Nova in 2008. Enrolled in a doctoral program, she got a Master’s from FIU in 2014 and her PhD in 2017. In 2013, she won an award from the NEA – Political Advocate of the Year. She worked with a group on education excellence, with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, with Latino School Administrators, and with the League of Women Voters. She was welcomed as a candidate for School Board.
She left teaching in 2020, came in first in the top two non-partisan primary for Miami’s school board, and, in the general election run off, defeated the second-place candidate by a 22 point margin. Lucia Baez-Geller saw her role on the Board as keeping students safe, eliminating the danger of extreme attacks, and helping students achieve their appropriate level in the classroom. She had a personal interest. She was a rare Florida school board member with young children at home. In practice, she became particularly well known for her willingness to defend LGBTQ students at a time when the Governor was leading what seemed like a charge against them. On many issues, especially those associated with the culture wars, Lucia Baez-Geller was often the only vote in the minority.
In August 2023, with more than a year left in her term, Lucia Baez-Geller announced she would not run for reelection. In November, she announced her candidacy for Congress. She characterized the incumbent as an extreme right winger. When Florida was gearing up for a vote to make protection of abortion a part of the state constitution, Lucia Baez-Geller and her supporters have taken particular pains to point out Salazar’s position on women’s health issues. Twice, the DCCC says, Salazar voted against the Women’s Health Protection Act which would have codified for Florida and the rest of the nation the rights guaranteed by Roe. The DCCC says Salazar voted against capping the price of insulin at $35 per month.
Given the opportunity to be bi-partisan along with other Republicans, Salazar declined. She voted against the bipartisan infrastructure law which is now improving Florida’s roads and bridges and bringing high speed internet throughout the state. Despite her opposition to the law, she has showed up as if to take credit for these Florida projects.
Sadly, Salazar joined the extreme right questioning the legitimacy of the 2020 election and those opposing the Congressional investigation into the January 6th insurrection.
Lucia Baez-Geller would be a great addition to Florida’s Congressional delegation. Help her get there. DONATE. VOLUNTEER.
Florida’s Senate Race
Florida
Former Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, from a family that immigrated from Ecuador and made a career of raising funds for non-profits, is creeping close to incumbent Rick Scott. Scott has not recovered from the blunder of calling for mandatory Congressional votes to renew Medicare and Social Security every five years. In recent polls, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell has been within 4 points of Scott. As of July 31, she was actually leading in the financial race $4.4 million to $3.9 million. That lead is misleading. $4 million is not enough for the home stretch in the third largest state in the country. That is especially true when she is running against an incumbent billionaire who can reach into his pocket for millions. Help Debbie Mucarsel-Powell flip this seat. She needs you and she is close. DONATE. VOLUNTEER
Contested Florida Congressional Seats
Florida 09 Incumbent Darren Soto
Darren Soto has represented this district south of Orlando since 2018 Kissimmee is the big town, though FL 09 was changed a little in redistricting . Originally from New Jersey, Darren Soto set up a solo law practice and made himself at home. His avocation as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist with a radio show did not hurt his election to the state senate and then to Congress. Puerto Rican and Italian, he has been a good fit for this plurality white district, but never a shoo-in.
Darren Soto won his 2022 election 53.6 – 46.4. There are no polls available for this district. We will soon see if the finances now are different from the last reporting period. On July 31, Darren Soto, with $800,000,was behind in the financial race to retired Colonel and businessman Thomas Chalifoux’s $1.9 million. DONATE. See Len’s Political Note #585.
Florida 13 Transportation Authority Communications Director Whitney Fox
Whitney Fox resigned as head of communication for the Pinellas County Transportation Authority to run for this Congressional District west of Tampa and Tampa Bay, along the Gulf Coast. A local, she tried working in marketing in New York. When she came home, her work with the Transportation Authority was not just a job, she had become an advocate for public transportation.
Whitney Fox is running against incumbent Anna Paulina Luna who could join a club of Republican members of Congress with changing and confusing origin stories. She won in 2022 53 – 45 after defeating the Democratic version of former governor Charlie Crist 53-47 in 2020. A Republican funded poll at the end of August had Luna leading by 5, but a neutral poll had Fox leading by 4. On July 31, Luna was winning the money race. She had $900,000 to Fox’s $100,000. Whitney Fox does not have a lot of and time to catch up. DONATE. See Len’s Political Note #625
Florida 15 County Board Member Pat Kemp
Pat Kemp is an easy type of person recognize. She’s the one who does the volunteer work, working on neighborhood associations and on helping veterans\
Volunteering was transformed initially into public communications as Pat Kemp did a public radio stint and, subsequently, into politics. She was elected to the Hillsborough County Commission, a seven member body with positions elected by district and three elected county-wide. This is not small potatoes. Hillsborough County, with a population of about 1.5 million includes the City of Tampa and communities east of Tampa. The county’s population is in the range of a million and a half people. The Commission oversees issues that range from early childhood to transportation to housing.
Does Pat Kemp stand a chance? Earlier in the campaign, her opponent, Incumbent Laurel Lee, appeared to be at odds with Donald Trump. He appears to have forgiven her for supporting Ron DeSantis for President. She is completing her first term in Congress. The focus of her campaign is less her congressional accomplishments than it is identifying herself as a former prosecutor and crime and a central problem.
There are no polls for this race. Laurel Lee is well ahead in the financial race. On July 31, she had $1.3 million to Pat Kemp’s $150,000. If Pat Kemp is to have a chance to win, she needs resources now. DONATE. See Len’s Political Note #656.
Florida 23 Incumbent Jared Moscowitz
Jared Moskowitz was once Governor Ron DeSantis’s Director of Emergency Management. The former State Rep did a more than creditable job in the role, leading Florida’s early response to the Covid pandemic. After the governor changed his views, for instance, hiring a vaccine skeptic state surgeon general, Jared Moskowitz resigned.
In 2022, Jared Moskowitz ran for the open Democratic seat in this district which includes Boca Raton and Parkland. He won that election 51.6 – 46.8. There are no polls for this district. As for as the financial race, on July 31 31, Jared Moskowitz had $700,000; his Republican opponent, cybersecurity expert Joe Kaufman had $50,000 Keep Jared Moskowitz in the lead. DONATE enough so he knows he has some support. See Len’s Political Note #584
WE HAVE A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION TO WIN
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz
As we look toward November, 2024, we see a brand new campaign. In early September polls, Trump is leading in Florida by 2, 4, and 6 points. Kamala Harris’s extraordinary debate performance may whittle that lead down to make Florida’s Electoral College votes competitive. Democrats dreaming of carrying Florida in the presidential election could create nightmares for Republicans.
Every donation, large or small, makes a difference. Larger donations mean more money for the campaign. But many in the media count the number of small donations as a measure of enthusiasm for the candidate. Make a small donation if you cannot afford a large one. DONATE TO KAMALA HARRIS AND TIM WALZ. VOLUNTEER
