Miami Beach’s Raquel Pacheco launches campaign against Ileana García for state Senate
Raquel Pacheco, who ran twice unsuccessfully for Miami Beach’s city commission, is announcing Wednesday she’s running against Republican state Sen. Ileana García for Senate District 36.
Her announcement is paired with two endorsements, from Democratic Minority Leader Sen. Lauren Book and Ruth’s List Florida, the state organization that backs Democratic pro-abortion-rights women.
Pacheco is filing her paperwork with the Florida Division of Elections later Wednesday.
García had been unopposed for a week since her main Democratic opponent, Florida Rep. Michael Grieco, dropped out of the race. Grieco said he was leaving the race because of an expected lack of financial backing from Senate Victory, the fundraising arm of Democrats in the state Senate, saying he thought his campaign would need $5 million to beat the Republican incumbent. Meanwhile, García has raised close to $550,000, according to state financial records of both her campaign account and her political committee, No More Socialism, through the end of April.
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Touting her campaign “will receive strong support from Senate Victory,” Pacheco said she decided to jump into the race because she was “shocked” by García’s positions, including her opposition to creating exemptions for rape and human trafficking victims in Florida’s 15-week abortion law.
“I think that she’s focused on imaginary problems,” Pacheco said in an interview with the Herald. “I think that as Floridians we simply deserve better. She’s a complete and utter embarrassment.”
Pacheco also referenced García’s comments on the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, which she defended in a 15-minute speech that “gay is not a permanent thing, LGBT is not a permanent thing.” In a recent and chaotic South Beach appearance, Garcia explained human trafficking victims who become pregnant are more likely to be released by traffickers.
“She’s out of touch, she’s erratic,” Pacheco said.
The newly redrawn SD 36 includes all of Miami Beach south of 41st Street and runs west to Sweetwater along the Florida International University campus. Pacheco said she wants to address issues like affordability and housing, access to affordable healthcare and addressing environmental issues in the district. She also said that, if elected, she would support “common sense gun legislation” to restrict the sale of assault weapons.
“i would never want to take away people’s guns or rights to guns,” she said, adding, “there’s no reason why you need to have a fully automatic weapon in your home.”
The single mom of an 8-year-old son, Pacheco, 48, is the owner of a translation company and lives in Miami Beach. In 2019, she ran for Miami Beach commissioner but lost to Commissioner Ricky Arriola. She ran again in 2021 but lost against Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, in a race that featured attacks on Pacheco’s military service and questions over debt she accrued that led her to file for bankruptcy in 2017.
Saying she’s confident she’ll have enough money and speak to enough voters to beat García, Pacheco said she wanted to encourage Democrats to vote in the November 8th election. She attributed her 2021 loss to “historically low turnout” among Miami Beach voters. And while this district is likely to be competitive despite gains Republicans have made in Miami-Dade County among Hispanic voters, Florida Democrats are also facing several expensive Senate races across the state, including Book’s primary challenge against former Broward commissioner Barbara Sharief.
“i have tremendous respect for both parties, and I think that they’re essential for making good government,” Pacheco said. “I realize that I’m fighting an uphill battle, but I take a lot of pride in representing people and people whose voices are not typically heard.”
This story was originally published June 8, 2022 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Miami Beach’s Raquel Pacheco launches campaign against Ileana García for state Senate."
