ELECTION ALERT: Tea Party Express Endorses Two Conservatives for Congress in South Florida


For Immediate Release: October 21, 2020

SACRAMENTO, CA: Tea Party Express, the nation’s largest Tea Party political action committee, is pleased to announce its endorsement of two conservative candidates for Congress on South Florida: Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez in the 26th District and journalist Maria Elvira Salazar in the 27th District.

Tea Party Express Co-Founder and Chief Strategist Sal Russo said, “We are excited to endorse two Cuban Americans for Congress who understand the importance of protecting our freedoms from the dangerous ideologies that threaten them. Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Maria Elvira Salazar will fight to stop the spread of socialism while getting our economy moving again and cutting waste and corruption in Washington.

26th District: “A Cuban immigrant who fled Fidel Castro’s oppressive regime as a child and settled in Little Havana, Carlos Gimenez has spent his entire life giving back to the community that enabled his family to live in freedom. He served as a firefighter for the Miami Fire Rescue Department for 25 years, including nine as chief during which he was recognized for his prudent fiscal management of the department. Since being elected Mayor of Miami-Dade in 2011, Carlos has worked tirelessly to get the county’s fiscal house in order. He has passed a balanced budget every year of his tenure, cut taxes by $1.9 billion, and streamlined county government by cutting waste while improving municipal services. His commonsense leadership is sorely needed to help clean up the fiscal mess in Washington and put Americans back to work.

27th District: “Maria Elvira Salazar is intimately familiar with the dangers of socialism. The daughter of Cuban immigrants who escaped the Castro regime, her parents instilled in her an appreciation for freedom and a desire to achieve the American Dream. As a journalist for Univision, CNN Español and Telemundo, she exposed many of the atrocities committed by socialist regimes in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, for which she won five Emmy Awards. Maria has witnessed firsthand the oppression and human suffering that always accompanies socialism, and she is running for Congress to prevent it from ever taking root in the United States. She will be an effective voice for freedom and opportunity in Congress and an advocate for South Floridians fighting to achieve the American Dream.

“Owing to their proximity to Cuba and their proud Cuban-American community, South Floridians know better than most that socialism doesn’t ever work. Yes Debbie Mucarsel-Powell and Donna Shalala stand silently by as the radical elements in their party continue to promote a dangerous socialist agenda that promises ‘free’ healthcare, ‘free’ college and ‘free’ everything else in exchange for higher taxes, bigger government, and less freedom. One only needs to look 90 miles off Florida’s coast to see the poverty, misery, and corruption that socialism brings. It’s no wonder so many Cubans have fled to the U.S. in search of freedom and opportunity.

America will only continue to be free and prosperous as long as liberty and democracy are safeguarded, and Carlos Gimenez and Maria Elvira Salazar will fight to do just that,” Russo concluded.

To schedule an interview with a representative of Tea Party Express, please contact the Press Office at 916-706-0124.

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