w/ @JoeFlech
Suspecting that his own allies may push him out of office in a few days, an angry state Rep. Roy Hardemon is torching his political party, accusing Democratic leaders in Miami of racism and back-stabbing.
Hardemon, in interviews with the Miami Herald, said his party doesn’t like black people — “especially black men” — and claimed the chairman of the Miami-Dade Democrats recruited a Haitian-American candidate to boot him from office. This week, Hardemon went one step further, lobbing a racial accusation during a meeting of Democratic leaders in Doral.
“It’s surprising to be lynched from the Democratic Party,” Hardemon said from a stage, standing next to Chairman Juan Cuba.
The heated rhetoric highlights the bitterness of the primary race in House District 108, where Hardemon, the incumbent, faces two challengers for a seat in the Republican-dominated Florida Legislature, including a former vice chairwoman of the Miami-Dade Democrats.
The heavily Democratic district covers the east edge of mainland Miami-Dade, an area along Biscayne Bay from I-195 to North Miami that includes the Liberty City and Little Haiti neighborhoods, as well as the villages of El Portal and Biscayne Park. Hardemon, a member of a prominent political family in Miami, is opposed by attorney Dotie Joseph and immigration consultant Joseph Beauvil.
Whoever wins the Aug. 28 primary will emerge as the heavy favorite in the general election against Libertarian Riquet Caballero.
Hardemon said Wednesday that he was speaking with intense emotion. He maintained that his party has moved to oust him by recruiting Joseph, his top opponent.
“That’s how I felt,” he said. “Like I was betrayed by the local party.”
Cuba, chairman of Miami-Dade’s Democratic Party, flatly denied any involvement in the primary race.
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