It was a good day for Republicans in the nation, Florida and in Miami-Dade, where all five constitutional offices were won by GOP candidates. Quite comfortably.
And a bad day for political consultant Christian Ulvert, who less than three months ago was celebrating a first round win for Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
Ulvert ran the campaigns for four of the five constitutional candidates — James Reyes for sheriff, JC Planas for supervisor of elections, Annette Taddeo for clerk and comptroller and David Richardson for tax collector. Richardson was a long shot. He’s definitely more qualified than the other candidate, but that guy’s name is Dariel Fernandez — and in a countywide race, Fernandez trumps Richardson.
They were all endorsed and pushed by Levine Cava, who may face difficult working conditions and negotiations with such partisan electeds who knew she campaigned against them. How this will affect her power is going to have to be the subject of another story.
Read related: After big win, Miami-Dade’s Daniella Levine Cava pushes constitutional slate
Taddeo, who lost to incumbent Juan Fernandez-Barquin, posted her regrets on social media Wednesday morning.
“Although the election results weren’t what we hoped for, I am filled with deep gratitude for each and every person who stood with us on this journey. I am incredibly proud of all we’ve accomplished together—the dedication, hard work, and impact we’ve made in advocating for a public service that truly puts people first,” Taddeo wrote, hinting that she may run again (which we expect). “While this chapter may be closing, my commitment to the values we fought for will not change.”
Some people might say they were all all long shots. The Miami-Dade Democratic Party seems to be in shambles. And the state Dem party leaders are sorta lost down here. This is not like the rest of Florida.
Basically every single Democrat constitutional candidate lost by 12 points, 56% to 44% in most cases, which is eerie. Except for Tomas Regalado for Property Appraiser. He won with 57%.
His daughter, Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado, also won re-election handily over her Democrat challenger Cindy Lerner, even though this is an officially non partisan race. Regalado also got 57% to Lerner’s 43% in what was one of the nastiest local races this year. Insults went both ways.
In another “non partisan” election, School Board Member Mary Blanco, a Gov. Ron DeSantis appointee, trounced Maxeme “Max” Tuchman, a teacher turned tech entrepreneur, 68% to 32%. Que pena. Former State Rep. Joe Geller, one of the few victorious Democrats, solidly beat former School Board Member Martin Karp, 55% to 45%.
Other Dems that won were all incumbents: The venerable Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (with 67%), who is, let’s face it, unbeatable at this point, State Sen. Jason Pizzo, who got 57% against perennial candidate Imtiaz Mohammad, who used to be a Democrat, and State Rep. Kevin Chambliss also won reelection with 53% of the vote.
But it is clearly a day for Republicans to rejoice in Miami-Dade. State Rep. Alex Rizo, who won his own re-election with a whopping 73% of the vote, must be smiling from ear to ear as chairman of the Miami-Dade GOP.
Meanwhile, Democrats are pretty much crying in their coffee and listing their homes for sale.
A red wave rode over the U.S., Florida and Miami-Dade on Election Day added by Ladra on
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