What took them so long?
The Republican Party of Florida had a very quiet grand opening last weekend for an outreach office on Calle Ocho to help with the many races it’s going to be involved in this year — particularly the governor’s race, where the GOP is hoping to hang on, and the Congressional race in District 26, where they hope to topple Democrat U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia.
But the office at 5455 SW 8th Street has really been operating for two months, with volunteer phone banks and sending teams out with walk lists. The location is coincidentally a few blocks from where the Miami-Dade Republican Party has it’s monthly meetings, but it was chosen because it’s in the middle of several areas with a high concentration of super voters.
“The new office was chosen because it is located in between Little Havana and Westchester to make it easier for people on both ends of the county to visit us, volunteer, get information, pick up signs or walk lists or come to trainings and events,” said Miami-Dade Republican Party Chairman Nelson Diaz.
“This past weekend, with short notice, we had over 30 volunteers who knocked on over 1,700 doors and made over 700 phone calls,” Diaz told Ladra. “The Republican Party will continue our efforts to reach out to everyone in Miami-Dade County until Rick Scott and our Republican delegation is re-elected and Joe Garcia packs his DC digs and heads back to his South Beach condo.”
That’s pretty much where their efforts are concentrated. Because while there were no high-profile tickets at the grand opening mugging for the camera, like there were at the Dade Dems opening of their Little Havana office last May, more than 2,600 voters were personally reached.
“Ours wasn’t as much a grand opening as it was a Super Saturday,” Diaz said. “They’re having big parties. We’re working.”
Maybe that is there were no real big ticket VIPs there. None of the Diaz-Balarts or Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Neither Scott nor his homegrown LG pick, Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Carlos Lopez-Cantera, were at the event.
Two of the Republicans who hope to topple Congressman Garcia were there: Both Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall and former Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe Martinez stopped by at some point in the day.
But Miami-Dade School Board Member Carlos Curbelo, who las malas lenguas say has the party support for the primary, was MIA.
He was in Orlando, he told Ladra.
State GOP opens new outreach office on Calle Ocho added by Ladra on
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