Ex Miami lawmaker hired by Venezuela elected to GOP board
MIAMI (AP) — Democrats are sharpening attacks on a former congressman who was quietly elected to the Miami GOP's executive committee despite a federal investigation into a $50 million lobbying contract with a favorite Republican target in South Florida: Venezuela's socialist government.
David Rivera's election to the 160-member committee, which has not been previously reported, was largely overlooked amid the results of Miami's Aug. 18 primaries.
Rivera, who lost his reelection attempt in 2012 but retains strong name recognition, won 35% of the ballots cast by Republicans in the 23rd District of Miami-Dade County.
Democrats are hopeful the scandal-plagued politician's comeback attempt could undermine what they see as red-baiting by the Trump campaign, which compares Democrat nominee Joe Biden's policies to those of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The Trump campaign frequently touts the president's record for confronting the embattled socialist, a stance popular with Cuban and Venezuelan exiles who hold major sway in a battleground state the president must win to remain in the White House.
“Make no mistake, by electing David Rivera into its leadership, the Republican Party has shown that it is the party of Maduro,” said Steve Simeonidis, the Democratic chair in Miami-Dade.
Kevin Munoz, a spokesman for the Biden campaign in Florida, said: “The GOP is making a mockery of the fight for democracy and freedom for Venezuela and their words are nothing more than a calculated, cynical, and empty political ploy to score votes in Florida.”
In May, Florida Democrats called for a congressional investigation into Rivera’s business dealings with Venezuela’s state-owned oil monopoly, PDVSA, after a lawsuit revealed that his consulting firm had been awarded a...