MIAMI — It was around the time that Florida Democrats suffered blistering defeats in Miami-Dade in the 2020 election — losing two key Congressional seats and several state legislative races — that Sen. Annette Taddeo began mulling a run for governor. But she’s not quite ready to jump in, she says, despite the fact she doesn’t “think it’s a secret” her name comes up as a potential top contender in 2022.
“If I were to become the nominee, clearly we have a lot of opportunity to have a lot of excitement, and with Val Demings also running [for U.S. Senate]…. I believe that’s what it’s going to take,” said Taddeo, a Colombian-American business owner who represents Florida Senate District 40, which includes parts of west Kendall, Richmond Heights and The Hammocks in Miami-Dade.
But the “excitement” of running a statewide race as a Latina Democrat hadn’t yet set in for her until she said she was asked to jump in by members of labor unions and other grassroots organizations underwhelmed by the current field of Democratic candidates vying to challenge Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has not yet announced his reelection bid but whose political committee had $48 million on hand as of last month. (“Please save us,” she said one of the text messages read.)
Though Taddeo hasn’t announced an official run, she confirmed to the Herald on Tuesday she’s seriously considering jumping into the race sometime later this fall. She has discussed a probable gubernatorial bid for months with Democrats in the Florida Legislature, Miami-Dade County and Washington. This month, for example, she met with Hispanic leaders in Central Florida as she explores her own candidacy beyond the Miami-Dade bubble. Several elected officials, including Orlando state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, were present.
A winner in a swing district
She sees her appeal in a potential three-way Democratic primary as a Latina lawmaker who represents a Miami-Dade district won by Donald Trump in 2020, but that went for Democrat Andrew Gillum for governor in 2018. She would also be the only non-white candidate among the three top contenders, which include Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, a former Republican governor.
“If we don’t increase Miami-Dade and really work on the Miami-Dade problem as Democrats, there’s no math in the world that makes us competitive statewide,” Taddeo said. “It is going to take every one of those votes to add up. But if you don’t have the base of Miami-Dade, there’s no path to winning in the state.”
And the increasing attention on DeSantis’ fight against mask requirements in schools and overall response to the summer’s surge in COVID-19 cases has already been fodder for a video she released over the weekend, framing the Republican governor as an authoritarian leader and calling for him to declare a state of emergency.
“All these moms, parents, dads, too, are waking up, too, and saying, ‘What the heck is going on?’ " she said. “Even Republican parents calling me and saying, ‘This is unacceptable, this is wrong.’ "
In another video, she refers to the governor as “Emperor DeSantis,” blasting his administration’s announcement that it would penalize some school districts that have approved local mask mandates with no simple option to opt out.
“The taking of money from actual school districts, I mean, it’s unbelievable, it’s the kind of stuff that you see someone like [Venezuelan leader Nicolás] Maduro do,” she said, adding that DeSantis has been “openly pursuing a promotion.”
“Will he have a lot of money? Absolutely. But I’ve only won in tough races... I think that’s why I want to feel, that yes, the resources are going to be there to be successful in the primary and then in the general but also the excitement and the grassroots support is there,” she said.
Possible path to victory
Ben Pollara, a Miami-based Democratic consultant who is currently not advising gubernatorial candidates, said he agreed with Taddeo’s premise that it wold be difficult for any Democrat to win Florida without Miami-Dade, but it “is yet to be seen” whether Taddeo will prevail over the other contenders.
“That being said, I can totally see the logic in her running for governor. If she can muster the resources to at least have enough money to communicate in such a way that she can lock down Miami-Dade County and probably pick up women and Hispanic voters statewide,” he said, she has a viable path to victory.
“Annette is no joke,” he added.
Meanwhile, Fried and Crist have both been making early efforts to reach out to the Hispanic community, hosting listening tours around the state tailored to different ethnic groups. While Taddeo said she thought it was great to see early investments, she says she feels she can better communicate to Latinos.
“I’ve not just been critical of the lack of attention to the Hispanic community, I’ve also been critical that so many people in my community show up two weeks before [an election],” she said. “It’s exactly the same, it’s disrespectful.”
When asked if she thought Florida was ready to elect a Latina governor, she said, “About time, yes. Or I wouldn’t be jumping in.”
Miami Herald staff writer Alex Daugherty contributed to this report from Washington, D.C..
