Swordsmyth
07-21-2017, 12:17 AM
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz easily won her South Florida district six times, but a Democratic primary challenge from a Bernie Sanders-backed law professor is making her seventh bid less than a sure bet — and her recent resignation as Democratic National Committee chairwoman hasn’t helped.Tim Canova has raised about $2.8 million (U.S.) thanks to the former presidential candidate’s endorsement, an almost unheard of amount for a first-time candidate and almost as much as Wasserman Schultz’s $3 million. He is running an aggressive campaign, accusing Wasserman Schultz of being a pawn of Wall Street who backs corporate donors over progressive causes. The primary is Aug. 30.
“Wasserman Schultz is like a lot of politicians who live in their own little bubble. They are not out and around the people and I have been,” said Canova, 56, who teaches business law at Nova Southeastern University.
Wasserman Schultz, 49, re-emerged in public Thursday, six days after the Democratic National Convention and her forced resignation as national party chair following a leaked email scandal (https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2016/07/24/hacked-emails-complicate-democratic-national-convention.html). She immediately went on the counterattack, saying Canova is using “disingenuous half-truths, lies and distortions” to attack her record. She received loud applause Thursday night at a forum on healing the rift between the police and black community that was held at a predominantly African-American mega church.
“I have a deep and proud commitment to our community,” she said, listing Social Security, the Affordable Care Act and recovery programs that eased the 2008 financial crisis as examples of progressive policies she helped pass. “My opponent can say whatever he wants, but the people I represent ... know better.” She also has the support of Vice-President Joe Biden, who will campaign on her behalf at a closed fundraiser Friday evening.
In Wasserman Schultz’s previous elections, she never drew a primary opponent in her suburban Fort Lauderdale district or a serious Republican challenge. In general elections, she received at least 60 per cent of the vote in a 2-to-1 Democratic district that stretches from the ocean to the Everglades and includes highrise beachfront hotels and condos, golf resorts and luxury malls and a mix of poor, middle-class, retiree and well-heeled communities.
Wasserman Schultz has been perceived as such a powerhouse — and the district so uncompetitive — that former U.S. Rep. Allen West, a tough-talking favourite of conservative Republicans and one of her fiercest critics, ran legally in a neighbouring district even though he lived in hers to avoid near-certain defeat. The district favoured Clinton over Sanders by a 68 to 31 per cent margin in the March presidential primary.
More at: https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2016/08/05/wasserman-schultz-fights-to-stay-in-house-after-dnc-email-scandal.html
“Wasserman Schultz is like a lot of politicians who live in their own little bubble. They are not out and around the people and I have been,” said Canova, 56, who teaches business law at Nova Southeastern University.
Wasserman Schultz, 49, re-emerged in public Thursday, six days after the Democratic National Convention and her forced resignation as national party chair following a leaked email scandal (https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2016/07/24/hacked-emails-complicate-democratic-national-convention.html). She immediately went on the counterattack, saying Canova is using “disingenuous half-truths, lies and distortions” to attack her record. She received loud applause Thursday night at a forum on healing the rift between the police and black community that was held at a predominantly African-American mega church.
“I have a deep and proud commitment to our community,” she said, listing Social Security, the Affordable Care Act and recovery programs that eased the 2008 financial crisis as examples of progressive policies she helped pass. “My opponent can say whatever he wants, but the people I represent ... know better.” She also has the support of Vice-President Joe Biden, who will campaign on her behalf at a closed fundraiser Friday evening.
In Wasserman Schultz’s previous elections, she never drew a primary opponent in her suburban Fort Lauderdale district or a serious Republican challenge. In general elections, she received at least 60 per cent of the vote in a 2-to-1 Democratic district that stretches from the ocean to the Everglades and includes highrise beachfront hotels and condos, golf resorts and luxury malls and a mix of poor, middle-class, retiree and well-heeled communities.
Wasserman Schultz has been perceived as such a powerhouse — and the district so uncompetitive — that former U.S. Rep. Allen West, a tough-talking favourite of conservative Republicans and one of her fiercest critics, ran legally in a neighbouring district even though he lived in hers to avoid near-certain defeat. The district favoured Clinton over Sanders by a 68 to 31 per cent margin in the March presidential primary.
More at: https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2016/08/05/wasserman-schultz-fights-to-stay-in-house-after-dnc-email-scandal.html