Lost in the well-publicized scandal of Putin-directed, Russian hackers stealing files from the DNC and Clinton campaign was their successful breach of the DCCC. The GOP promptly used this information, which included tens of thousands of files, to target Democratic candidates in almost a dozen close House races in 2016. They did this even though they were explicitly warned that doing so would be "aiding the Russian government in its effort to influence American elections.”
The attacks included FL House District 26 Democratic candidate Annette Taddeo, who was the favored candidate to win that swing district. Russian hackers working under the pseudonym of "Guccifer 2.0" released Taddeo’s internal strategy documents, private briefings, and dossiers on the candidate’s weaknesses.
A Florida rightwing blog, HelloFLA!, run by a former Florida legislative aide turned Republican lobbyist, even sent direct messages via Twitter to Guccifer 2.0 asking for copies of any additional documents that would be harmful to Democratic candidates.
What you will find particularly disturbing will be all the traitorous rightwingers in the comments cheering this foreign enemy sabotage.
The Russians were threatened enough by Taddeo to commit espionage, and the GOP was threatened enough to use the information to undermine our own democracy. But Tuesday, Sept. 26, we can hit them both back where it hurts.
Annette Taddeo is right now the favored candidate to win the state Senate special election for Florida Senate District 40. The reason it’s a special election is because of the sudden resignation of former GOP state Senator Frank Artiles, who left due to a racist diatribe and the revelation he hired several unqualified Playboy models as campaign consultants.
Even though this seat was held by the red team, this district has more Dems than republicans—and Hillary Clinton trounced Trump here last year. Politico put it bluntly—
this seat is make or break for us.
This race is critical for Democrats capturing the Florida state Senate for the first time in two decades. The problem in the past has been turnout. This is a special election, and the GOP is again pulling out every dirty trick to keep turnout low. (More on that later.)
We have a real shot to elect a strong Democrat and proven leader, Annette Taddeo to the state Senate. If you believe we need stronger schools, protect access to affordable healthcare and stronger communities then you need to make your plans to vote for Annette Taddeo.
--Joe Biden
Her challenger is a best friend and former roomate of the disgraced Frank Artiles: Jose “Pepi” Diaz. Pepi fiercely defended his racist friend, took money from his political committee, and then told the state Senate they should just “move on" without denouncing anything he said.
Pepi Diaz is most famous as being one of the first awful people to get fired by Donald Trump on Season 5 of The Apprentice.
He was remembered for his bizarre behavior, sleeping in on the day of his “big pitch”, and grossly mismanaging his team over a simple task.
As you can see, he was a weasel suck-up to Trump then, and he still is now. However, he has gone to great lengths to hide pictures of him and Trump from his social media since Trump is not too popular with Hispanics in South Florida.
(And even though he was immediately fired on that stupid a reality show, Trump was still considering him earlier this year to be the lead federal Miami prosecutor because he was such as suck-up.)
This is a pretty clear choice: a great candidate or a coward fired from Trump’s reality show.
Again, the key is turnout. Unfortunately, the GOP is really, really good at turning out their base. Democrats in Miami-Dade swamp the polls in presidential election years, but tend to stay home in off-years---and especially in off-elections. Even worse is the Miami GOP's dirty practice of using corrupt "boleteros" to collect absentee ballots. (Fraud with absentee ballots has always been rampant in Miami—it’s a big reason why Rick Scott won. The GOP legislature naturally ignores it and instead focuses on laws to combat non-existent in-person fraud designed to keep Democrats away.)
Finally, Gov. Rick Scott made the cynical decision NOT to delay the election due to Miami’s direct hit by Hurricane Irma. One of the last places in Florida struggling without power is Richmond Heights, a black neighborhood that is absolutely critical for any Democrat’s hope to win this district.
All of these factors have been contributing to Pepi Diaz having a small lead so far in both early voting and in absentee ballots. For the sake of our state and our democracy, we can do better:
In Miami-Dade? Here is a list of early voting and temporary hurricane voting stations: www.annettetaddeo.com/...
Not in Miami-Dade? Volunteer or phone bank:
www.annettetaddeo.com/...