U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has served with distinction since the Republican was elected in 1989 in a special election to fill the seat held by the late, great Democrat Claude Pepper. She became the first Hispanic woman in Congress.

Highly popular and willing to cross party lines on issues important to her constituents, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen is fiscally conservative, strong on defense and a promoter of human rights everywhere, particularly for her native Cuba. An educator, she has pushed to strengthen Head Start for young children and increase financial aid to college students. She is a sponsor of the Violence Against Women Act and supported ending “don’t ask, don’t tell” to allow gay soldiers to serve.

As chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, she has been a strong advocate of Israel and finding ways to strangle Iran’s attempts to build nuclear weapons.

Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, 60, faces Democrat Manny Yevancey and a no-party affiliation candidate, Thomas Joe Cruz-Wiggins. In this race, the choice is clear.

For U.S. House, District 27, The Herald enthusiastically recommends ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN.