While Democrats across Florida and Miami-Dade in particular are still wringing their hands and pointing their fingers at the disastrous Tuesday that ended in big state and congressional losses for South Florida, local Republicans are still grinning ear to ear and patting themselves on the back.
Sure, they lost the presidential race in Miami-Dade, but not by as much as they could have. And it never really mattered that much because they knew Florida would go red. That’s why many South Florida Republican electeds were never really that engaged in the national campaign. Sure, there were the endless Latinos Con Trump caravans motivated by the BLM protests and the cuatro gatos that wave signs from lawn chairs every weekend in front of Tropical Park on Bird Road. But they were not embedded in the effort to keep Trump in office.
Even the loss of the county mayoral race to a progressive like Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava — Commissioner Esteban “Stevie” Bovo was the GOP choice — is not so bitter and Republicans are calling Tuesday a net win.
Read: Miami-Dade and Florida Dems lose focus and key seats in epic fail election
What was important to them was flipping the two congressional seats that Democrats won just two years ago, flipping Senate 37 — which they may have done; we won’t know til after the recount that starts Tuesday — and keeping or flipping some House districts. On that, they’re downright elated.
“I wish they would take Florida out of the purple column already,” said a beaming Nelson Diaz, chairman of the Miami-Dade Republican Party, who said the victories were particularly rewarding because the Democrats had spent so much money on their failed campaigns.
“They spent $15 million to try to take back 10 House seats and they got zero,” Diaz said, almost giddy. “It was a crazy amount of money they spent.”
He means misspent. “They were buying ice cream trucks and DJs and bands for early voting. They didn’t know what to do with the money.”
“We did things the old fashioned way, by talking to voters — and through text messages,” Diaz said, adding that many Dem candidates did not canvass as much because of the COVID pandemic.
Another mistake Democrats made, Diaz says, was their messaging to Hispanics. “They treat all Latinos and Hispanics the same. But we are very diverse. It’s not that different than a voter from Michigan and someone from Colorado. They don’t treat those voters the same.
Read related: Polar opposite partisan caravans show mayoral votes are along blue/red lines
“Imagine treating Hispanics like Americans, which is what we are, and not pandering.”
Many Republicans, and even some Democrats, agreed that the messaging should have stayed on jobs and the economy for Hispanics here rather than caged children and immigration reform.
GOP superpundit, party fundraiser and onetime state senate candidate Marili Cancio said she was grateful for the results — but expected them.
“The Republican Party of Florida and Trump campaign worked in unison to register more Republicans, cutting the 2016 margin in less than half,” Cancio told Ladra, saying that Hispanic messaging was key.
“Of the 1.5 million new voter registrations in Florida since 2016, about 30% are Hispanics,” Cancio said. “The Trump campaign was a tide that lifted all boats. It was not focused on Cubans or Puerto Ricans, as most do, but on Latinos with a positive, unifying message of prosperity, family, law and order. The campaign invested in the ground game and listened to locals like Giancarlo Sopo,” she said.
Both Republicans and Democrats who spoke to Ladra kept referring to Sopo — a onetime Democrat operative who some call the Darth Vader to Congressman Joe Garcia‘s Yoda — as one of their secret weapons. That and polling that showed Hispanics, undecided and NPAs were most concerned about the economy.
The socialism scare played especially well here, too.
“Most people moving to Florida fall mostly into two categories,” Cancio said. “Either fleeing high taxing states like NY or Latin American immigrants who are fleeing countries destroyed by the false promises of socialism. They have seen how the movie ends with poverty and lack of liberties.
Read related: State Rep. Cindy Polo’s classy exit, concession tweet should be an example
“The Biden promise to return to the failed Obama Cuba policy or even consider negotiating with Maduro didn’t help. People come here to live the American dream and are grateful to be in the best country in the world. They don’t relate with the grievances that many Democrats hold against our country and certainly don’t relate to the Latinx messaging.”
Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid — a Republican who was once senior legislative aide to former State Rep. Eddy Gonzalez — was particularly pleased with the performances of insurance attorney Tom Fabricio, who beat Democrat State Rep. Cindy Polo in House District 103, and former Community Council Member Alex Rizo, who beat educator Annette Collazo in District 110 to replace Jose Oliva.
Pero es por interés.
“Representatives Fabricio and Rizo will be representing the Town of Miami Lakes in this upcoming legislative session,” said Cid, who raised funds for Rizo. “The town will be requesting funds for drainage and road. They will work hard to bring back much needed funds for our community.”
Diaz said the wins will help the Republican Party stave off more municipal gains and also keep newly-elected Democrat county mayor from fully being able to implement a progressive agenda.
“It will build a little bit of a red wall against Levine Cava’s blue truck,” he said. “This will defend against that.
“And it makes it that much harder for Democrats to raise money to combat Miami Republicans in the future.”
Miami-Dade and Florida GOP celebrate big wins in decided red rush election added by Ladra on
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