Diaz-Balart To Retire
Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) will announce later today he will not seek another term, CongressDaily reports this morning.
Diaz-Balart is the 18th House GOPer to step down, and one of the few who holds a seat that Dems could target. In '08, he defeated Dem Raul Martinez by 16 pointes, even though the DCCC spent money in his Miami-Dade and Broward Co. district.
The district is heavily Hispanic, thanks to Miami's large Cuban population. 73% of district residents call themselves Hispanic, while just 16% are white. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) won a narrow 51%-49% victory in the seat.
First elected in '92, Diaz-Balart has had little trouble holding on to his seat. His brother, Mario, represents another heavily-Cuban part of Miami. CongressDaily reports that Mario Diaz-Balart will abandon his district to run in Lincoln's, which is seen as tilting more toward the GOP.
A Dem source tells Hotline OnCall that '08 nominee/Dept. of Energy appointee Joe Garcia (D) is considering the race if Mario does indeed leave his district, the 25th, to run in his brother's seat. Garcia had turned down a rematch earlier this year, but appears he may be tempted to enter the open seat.
Garcia gave Mario Diaz-Balart a real scare in '08, holding him to just 53% while spending nearly $1.8M in the contest.
A GOP source says several candidates are considering bids, including state Rep. David Rivera (R), who's currently running for the state Senate, state Sen. Alex Villalobos (R) and Sen. LeMieux aide Carlos Curbelo (R). State Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla (R) also released a statement today saying he was considering a bid, but a GOP source doesn't believe he'll stick around.
UPDATE: Diaz de la Portilla confirmed to Hotline On Call that he is in fact seriously considering the race, and is meeting with party leaders in Tallahassee today -- and at a quarterly GOP meeting this weekend in Key West -- to discuss a bid. He added that two of his brothers hold various offices throughout the CD, and that name ID will help him in a potential bid.
Meanwhile, in the FL-21 race, ex-Miami Mayor Manny Diaz (D) is a potential candidate. A race against M. Diaz-Balart would not be completely new for Diaz, as he was reportedly considering a run against him in FL-25 earlier this year.
Lincoln Diaz-Balart is the 3rd GOPer, after Reps. Steve Buyer (R-IN) and Vern Ehlers (R-MI), to retire in the last 2 weeks. Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA) said she will not seek re-election in her heavily-Dem district in L.A. yesterday.
Karen Bass, current speaker of the CA house, who will be termed out, is expected to seek Watson's seat.
Did you actually read the article. It clearly states "Diaz-Balart is the 18th House GOPer to step down, and one of the few who holds a seat that Dems could target." So out of the 18 GOPers to retire this is one of the few seats that the DEM may actually win. The rest of the 18 are either in a reliable GOP district or they are "retiring" to seek office elsewhere and are not in fact leaving politics. FYI, out of the 12 Dems retiring most are in districts that have voted GOP recently and a majority of the DEM retirees district's are expected to switch to the GOP; not vice versa
Sr Lincoln Diaz-Balart
Es necesario que ud reconsidere sus posicion en cuanto a retirarse de la politica de Washington ,la dictarua de los Castros se va a favorecer con su posicion,los cubanos estaremos perdiendo a uno de los hombre mas importante y honesto de nuestra nacion ,la cual es victima de las mas cruel dictadura de america,es su deber permanecer en su cargo la lucha no ha terminado son muchos los traidores que quieren entregarse a los castros asesinos y criminales, de ud depende nuestar libertad ,por favor reconsidere su posicion estamos con ud
DIOS LO BENDIGA SIEMPRE Y LO ILUMINE EN SU DIFICIL PARA TODOS; SU DECISION
Sr Lincoln Diaz-Balart
Es necesario que ud reconsidere sus posicion en cuanto a retirarse de la politica de Washington ,la dictadura de los Castros se va a favorecer con su posicion,los cubanos estaremos perdiendo a uno de los hombre mas importante y honesto de nuestra nacion ,la cual es victima de las mas cruel dictadura de america,es su deber permanecer en su cargo la lucha no ha terminado son muchos los traidores que quieren entregarse a los castros asesinos y criminales, de ud depende nuestar libertad ,por favor reconsidere su posicion estamos con ud
DIOS LO BENDIGA SIEMPRE Y LO ILUMINE EN SU DIFICIL PARA TODOS; SU DECISION
It is sad to see Mr. DIaz-Balart step down.
Let's look at this objectively - who better than an individual to represent a heavily Cuban-American, Republican district than someone like me? Someone who is the picture of a Cuban American, true and passionate to his roots, but American to the core, the example of a successful Cuban-American, who has served his nation in multiple wars and risen through the ranks. This will not be easy as I am not a known entity in Miami due to my military and civ governmentt service. If there were ever a time to run for congress, now is the time and this is the district. At a time when the senate andr house of representatives is out of touch with the people, the organization needs reform. The public needs to know that those they elect are there to help them regarless of political diferences. Time to seriously consider to possibly establish the Mario Caraballo Congressional Exploratory Committee.
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