Mary Barzee Flores - DEM Challenger
Financial Strength
Raised ($): $2,143,260
Cash on Hand ($): $0
% of the total DEM $ Raised: 100%
Cash on Hand v. Opponent (%):
Endorsements
Mary was born and raised in Florida, and worked her way through the University of Miami and law school. She served in the federal Office of the Public Defender in Miami for twelve years, and President Obama nominated her for a judgeship on the U.S. District Court. Once elected, Mary will fight to protect the economy, for fair economic opportunity, and for access to health care. She is running in a district where Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump by nearly twenty points and is endorsed by EMILY’s List.
Issue Scores
Gun Safety
1
Environment
0
Healthcare
0
Reproductive Rights
0
Conservative Ranking
Financial Strength
Raised($): $2,282,620
Cash on Hand ($): $147,164
Age: 58
Years in Office: 17
Assumed congressional office in 2003.Former Career: Florida Senate, Florida House of Representatives.Education: University of South Florida. Currently resides in Miami.Mario Díaz-Balart is a Republican U.S. Representative for Florida’s 25th congressional district. Díaz-Balart was born in Fort Lauderdale, to Cuban parents, He attended the University of South Florida to study political science before beginning his public service career as an aide to then-Miami Mayor Xavier Suárez. He was elected to the Florida House in 1988, moved to the Florida Senate in 1992, and returned to the Florida House in 2000. In 2002 Díaz-Balart was elected to the US House in the renumbered 25th district. It was widely believed that Diaz-Balart had drawn this district for himself, given that he was chairman of the state house redistricting committee. Indeed, since this district’s creation in 1993, the Republican candidate has run unopposed in all but two. In 2007 Díaz-Balart advocated in favor of maintaining the Cuban embargo, saying "Some people do not understand the embargo of Cuba. Its purpose is to keep American hard currency out of the hands of a Communist thug by restricting most trade and travel. " Regarding climate change, he said " My fear is using the bandwagon of global warming to have Congress act on some knee-jerk reaction … will hurt our economy. Díaz-Balart voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and pass the American Health Care Act. Díaz-Balart voted in favor of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. In the aftermath of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting Díaz-Balart said gun control legislation wouldn’t stop mass shootings. According to The Washington Post, Diaz-Balart, is single largest recipient of direct NRA campaign cash among Floridians in the House of Representatives since 1998.