A hot congressional race in the making

Just days after Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart put his congressional district up for grabs by launching a campaign for his retiring brother's seat, the pursuit of top candidates is well underway.

In a sign that the Diaz-Balarts may throw their support behind state Rep. David Rivera of Miami, he was spotted at a Miami restaurant on Saturday huddling with Lincoln Diaz-Balart's chief of staff, Ana Carbonell, and the family's close ally, Ana Navarro.

Democratic consultant Jeff Garcia reports that Democratic leaders in Congress and the White House have been reaching out to former Miami-Dade Democratic Party Chairman Joe Garcia, who lost to Mario-Diaz Balart in 2008. He now works for the Obama administration in the Department of Energy. "The courtship is off the charts,'' Garcia said.

Comments

[Todd M]

Who cares about Jeff Garcia? He's never won a race in his life (Bloom, Castor (where he was replaced)...and most recently helped Raul Martinez get killed by almost 20%. I don't understand why we should care about what he thinks or does. So even though you guys are friends, please stop mentioning him as your standard democratic consultant in your posts. There are ton of more reputable consultants in South Florida with a much better track record.

[John F]

Isn't Jeff Garcia helping Maurice Ferre?

[Dutch]

The Diaz-Balarts will not throw support to Rivera if it is between him and Alex Diaz de la Portilla. He has a close relationship with them also. Although Rivera could use it, DLP's name recognition has to be much greater. He's been in the legislature since about 1995.

[Jeff Garcia = Hack]

@John F

Ferre declined to hire Jeff Garcia. Beth always fails to mention that when quoting Jeff Garcia's take on Ferre's candidacy.

[John F]

Thanks "Jeff Garcia=Hack".

She also always fails to mention that they are close friends. What a joke.

[Jeff Garcia = Hack]

Makes me wish that intentionally misleading readers were a fireable offense.