The race to replace a longtime member of Congress just got a new candidate – one with a very well-known name in Miami politics.
Raquel Regalado, who served six years on the Miami-Dade School Board before resigning to launch an unsuccessful bid for Miami-Dade Mayor last November, announced Tuesday that she is running for the Republican nomination for District 27.
The seat is currently held by Ileana Ros- Lehtinen, who announced in May that she would not run for reelection in 2018. Ros-Lehtinen was first elected in 1988 and is currently the longest serving member of the Florida delegation.
Regalado, the daughter of Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, posted a video on her Facebook page announcing the run – saying that the issue of “better paying jobs” needed to be solved before any other issue.
“We can't afford to buy a home. We can't afford to live here. We can't afford to raise our children here, let alone hope that one they and their children will call South Florida home,” Regalado said.
Regalado joins Bruno Barreiro as those who have announced they will run for the GOP nomination – while several Democrats, including State Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez, have thrown their hats into the ring for a race the party believes they have a serious chance of winning.
The 27th District, which includes parts of coastal Miami-Dade and Miami Beach, was won by Hillary Clinton in 2016 by 20 percentage points.
