Rep. Mario Diaz Balart (R-Miami) has had little to worry about since he switched districts when his brother, former Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R), retired. Originally, Mario Diaz-Balart represented a politically marginal South Florida district but moved into his brother’s safely Republican seat when it became open in the 2010 election.
Late last week as candidate filing closed on Friday, former state Judge Mary Barzee Flores (D), who had been competing in the crowded open seat Democratic primary for the adjacent District 27, decided to switch districts and challenge Rep. Diaz-Balart. The move assures that she will advance into the general election, a prospect that was unlikely in the crowded neighboring district where former Health & Human Services Secretary and ex-University of Miami president Donna Shalala seems to have developed a Democratic primary advantage. Rep. Diaz-Balart will be heavily favored for re-election, but he can count on facing the first relatively competitive campaign he’s seen since election year 2008.
--Jim Ellis
Late last week as candidate filing closed on Friday, former state Judge Mary Barzee Flores (D), who had been competing in the crowded open seat Democratic primary for the adjacent District 27, decided to switch districts and challenge Rep. Diaz-Balart. The move assures that she will advance into the general election, a prospect that was unlikely in the crowded neighboring district where former Health & Human Services Secretary and ex-University of Miami president Donna Shalala seems to have developed a Democratic primary advantage. Rep. Diaz-Balart will be heavily favored for re-election, but he can count on facing the first relatively competitive campaign he’s seen since election year 2008.
--Jim Ellis
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