Former Rep. Mucarsel-Powell makes decision about congressional rematch with Gimenez
Former Democratic Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell has ruled out a 2022 election rematch with Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez in a key South Florida swing district.
Instead, the former Miami-Dade representative will be taking on a role advising Future Majority, a Democratic-aligned advocacy group, and overseeing its new Hispanic outreach program designed to combat Spanish-language disinformation campaigns.
“I am announcing that I will not run for Congress in 2022,” Mucarsel-Powell said in a statement first shared with the Herald. “But this does not mean that I will step back from our fight to improve our communities. I will keep fighting for truth against the menace of disinformation that is targeting our Hispanic communities in South Florida and across the nation. In 2020, I saw firsthand how this disinformation can divide our community — and it is far bigger than just one election or one district.”
Mucarsel-Powell, 51, immigrated to the U.S. from Ecuador at the age of 14. She represented Florida’s 26th District for one term after being elected in 2018. She lost her 2020 reelection bid to Gimenez, the former Miami-Dade County mayor, by roughly 3 points as Republicans performed strongly in South Florida even as Democrat Joe Biden won the presidency.
Mucarsel-Powell’s decision to forgo another run for the seat underscores the difficulty Florida Democrats have had recruiting a candidate in the key swing district in a year that the national party will be defending its narrow majority in the U.S. House.
As of Feb. 17, no Democrat has registered a campaign committee with the Federal Election Commission for the seat. Florida has a June 17 candidate filing deadline.
“This is the latest sign that no one wants to run as a Democrat in South Florida, and the party will suffer massive losses in November,” said Camille Gallo, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, the GOP’s main campaign arm for House races.
Before her electoral loss, Mucarsel-Powell had called for an FBI investigation of Spanish-language disinformation campaigns targeting Hispanic voters.
She has continued to speak out on the issue since leaving office. She will oversee Future Majority’s “Tu Poder / Your Power” program, which the group says will push back on disinformation campaigns targeting the Hispanic community in Florida and elsewhere.
“Debbie knows first-hand how disinformation can divide us and what it will take to fight back,” Mark Riddle, the group’s president said in an email. “Her personal experience and leadership as the first South American immigrant ever elected to Congress will help guide this critically needed program focused on providing voters with the necessary information to discern the truth from the lies on critical issues and a rapid response effort to quickly identify and counteract disinformation tactics.”
Riddle, a longtime Democratic strategist, previously founded Unite the Country, a super PAC that supported Biden’s presidential campaign. Unite the Country and Future Majority raised a combined $75 million “to promote Joe Biden’s positive message,” according to Riddle’s personal website.
Future Majority is registered as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, which means it is not required to disclose its donors.
This story was originally published February 17, 2022 at 1:50 PM.
