Mario Diaz-Balart

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart Officially Switching Districts, Running For His Brother Lincoln's House Seat

Eric Kleefeld | February 11, 2010, 1:28PM

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL)

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) has made it official that he is seeking reelection in a different district -- the seat currently held by his older brother, Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), who is retiring.

While this arrangement might seem unusual, Lincoln refers back to his previous experience in the state legislature, seemingly in order to rebut the obvious carpetbagger accusations: "This is a natural move for me; in my years of public service at both the federal and state levels, I have had the privilege of representing most of the communities that make up Congressional District 21, including Hialeah, Westchester, Doral, Kendall, Miami Lakes, Hialeah Gardens, Medley and Palmetto Bay. I have done so with devotion and dedication, effectively and with proven results."

He also adds: "To the voters of District 21, I look forward to speaking with you in the coming weeks about the urgent need to create jobs, limiting out of control government spending, lowering the national debt, and cutting taxes, while highlighting my record of working across party lines to achieve results. I will also humbly and respectfully ask for your vote this November to serve as your voice in Washington, and continue representing the needs of South Florida."

Lincoln Diaz-Balart

Lincoln Diaz-Balart Will Not Seek Re-election In November

Brian Beutler | February 11, 2010, 11:13AM

Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL)

Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) will announce his retirement at a press conference this afternoon.

Diaz-Balart has represented his Miami-based district in the House for 18 years. His retirement brings the number of House Republicans who will not seek reelection in 2010 to 18. Most of those 18 serve solidly red districts, but Diaz-Balart's could be competitive.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL)--brother of Lincoln--serves a neighboring, though less safe district and some reports suggest that Mario might run for Lincoln's seat. That would leave two contestable House seats vacant as the November elections approach.

A Republican source tells TPMDC that state Rep. David Rivera (R-FL), who is currently running for a local state Senate seat, could in turn switch races and run for Mario's House seat, as Mario switches into Lincoln's district.

Additional reporting by Eric Kleefeld

FL-SEN

Little Diss, Big Implications: Why The Diaz-Balarts Turned Their Backs On Charlie Crist

Evan McMorris-Santoro | December 23, 2009, 1:34PM

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL)

It's a classic story of you-don't-scratch-my-back-I-don't-scratch-yours: According to the developing narrative of yesterday's decision by the Diaz-Balart brothers to withdraw their endorsement of Gov. Charlie Crist for Senate, the southern Florida representatives were miffed that Crist didn't appoint who they wanted for a state judgeship.

Crist claims he never saw a letter from Lincoln Diaz-Balart calling on him to nominate a friend of Diaz-Balart's son to the Gasden County bench. In October, Crist appointed someone else. Though no one is admitting directly that the political slight is what caused the brothers, important backers for the embattled Crist, local political reporters report all signs point to the judicial nomination as the moment things went sour.

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FL-SEN

Florida GOPers In Civil War

Eric Kleefeld | December 22, 2009, 6:46PM

Clockwise from left, Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer, Rep. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Center Florida Gov. Charlie Crist

The Florida Republican Party organization is now in the midst of a civil war, with the latest shoe to drop being that embattled party chairman Jim Greer has called for a special executive committee meeting, in response to a request that he be ousted as chairman -- but at the same time, he's telling his enemies that the motion itself isn't allowed under the party rules.

Greer, an ally of moderate Gov. Charlie Crist, has come under fire by intra-party critics who accuse him of mismanaging the state GOP's finances. For his part, Greer is putting the blame for this controversy on allies of former state House Speaker Marco Rubio, the more conservative challenger against Crist in the Senate primary. And Greer has accused these critics of "slander," "libel," and even "treason" against the Republican Party!

Now Greer has sent out his new letter (available after the jump) calling the meeting, but declaring its raison d'etre of ousting him to be against the party's rules. "Chairman Greer is agreeing to call the special meeting in conjunction with the already-scheduled annual meeting to discuss a variety of issues the board has expressed interest in discussing -- one of which is to rescind his election as Chairman," Florida GOP press secretary Katie Gordon Betta explained to us. "By this letter, the Chairman is pro-actively informing the members that one of their intended motions is not permitted under party rules, in order to avoid confusion at the meeting in January."

Yes, this letter should probably help to avoid confusion, and will clear a lot of things up. But that's not all. Crist has also lost the support of some key GOP Congressmen in his Senate bid -- but nobody is exactly sure why.

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Charlie Crist

Diaz-Balart Brothers Take Back Their Endorsements Of Crist In Senate Race

Eric Kleefeld | December 22, 2009, 1:41PM

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL)

Gov. Charlie Crist (R-FL) just suffered a setback in his Senate primary, in which he's been the establishment candidate against the more conservative former state House Speaker Marco Rubio -- with two top Florida Congressmen now rescinding their endorsements for Crist.

Reps. Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart, two brothers who are big names in the Cuban-American Republican community, have now taken back their endorsements -- though they aren't saying exactly why. "We take our endorsements seriously, but the governor knows why we withdrew and he left us with no alternative," said Lincoln Diaz-Balart, who added that he and his brother are unlikely to endorse anyone else in the race.

Lincoln Diaz-Balart also said that the decision was made weeks ago, and is not related to Rubio's numbers in recent polls, which have him either tied or only narrowly trailing Crist.