Democrats representing Florida in Congress are teaming up to back candidates in the final weeks before the primary.
This week, five congressional Democrats from the Sunshine State–U.S. Reps. Charlie Crist, Val Demings, Ted Deutch, Lois Frankel and Darren Soto–all threw their support behind Nancy Soderberg, who served on President Bill Clinton’s team at the UN and as a deputy national security advisor, who is running for the seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla. With DeSantis running for governor, the Democrats have an outside shot at flipping this congressional seat representing parts of Northeast Florida.
“I am honored to receive the endorsements of these exemplary members of Congress, and humbled by the confidence they have placed inour campaign. They are on the front lines of fighting for Floridians in Washington, and in Congress, I look forward to joining them to deliver true results for Central Florida families,” Soderberg said when she reeled in the endorsements this week.
“Nancy Soderberg will work hard for Florida families as our next member of Congress,” Demings said. “As a diplomat and United Nations Ambassador, Nancy negotiated tough deals around the world. I have no doubt she can do the same in Congress to get legislation passed for her constituents. I am honored to endorse her for Congress and look forward to working with her to help the people of Florida.”
Soderberg faces Dr. Stephen Sevigny and attorney John Upchurch in the Democratic primary on August 28.
In the meantime, on Thursday, seven Democrats representing Florida in Congress–U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, Demings, Deutch, U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, Soto and U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson–teamed up to back state Rep. Sean Shaw, D-Tampa, who is running for state attorney general. Shaw faces attorney Ryan Torres in the primary at the end of August.
Crist also backed Shaw, going to bat for his campaign at the start of the week.
“In these challenging times, it’s more important than ever to elect people who are willing to fight for our democratic values. We need leaders who will take on the special interests and extremists who want to erode and overturn our constitutional rights,” Crist insisted. “That’s why I’m proud to endorse my friend Sean Shaw to be our next attorney general!”
Crist even noted that he served in that post which he was elected to as a Republican back in 2002.
“As a former attorney general and governor of Florida, I support Sean Shaw because he will always fight for the people of Florida,” Crist maintained. “To move Florida forward, we need an attorney general willing to go after criminals and fight for sensible criminal justice reforms that benefit all of our citizens. We will have that in Sean Shaw.”
Kevin Derby can be reached at Kevin.Derby@floridadaily.com.
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