| | | | |  | | By Sabrina Rodriguez | With help from Rishika Dugyala and Teresa Wiltz
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POLITICO Illustration/AP Photo | Hi, hi, Recast fam! Sabrina is back as our guest host while we give our wonderful Brakkton a break. This week has been … quite a week to say the least. Russia has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, receiving condemnation (and sanctions) from the U.S. and allies around the globe. We got a Supreme Court nominee this morning, the first Black woman to get selected for the top court. And Republicans have flocked to Florida for this year's CPAC. But we kick things off with how one Latina Democrat is looking at Florida in 2022. Can Democrats win in Florida in 2022? Will they regain ground lost with Hispanic voters in 2020? For Florida state Sen. Annette Taddeo, the answer is simple: Yes, if they put a Latina — one who understands Hispanics across the state and specifically in South Florida — at the top of the ticket. Taddeo, a Colombian American representing a Miami-area seat, is running to unseat Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a rising star in the GOP. She would become the state's first Latina governor if she wins the Democratic nomination in August and defeats DeSantis in November. Now, Taddeo — and Democrats — face an uphill battle in Florida, home to the third-largest Hispanic population in the country. Democrats have faced bruising losses over the past three election cycles. In 2020, Joe Biden lost the state by more than 3 percentage points, a huge margin for Florida, where elections have often been decided on razor-thin lines. And Biden's underperformance in the state was most evident in Miami-Dade County, which has the highest concentration of Hispanic voters. He won the county by 7 percentage points, compared with Hillary Clinton's 30-point margin over Trump in 2016. Meanwhile, polls put Taddeo well behind her two Democratic opponents, Rep. Charlie Crist — himself a former governor — and Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried. Still, Taddeo is convinced she can create a winning coalition and energize the Democratic base — especially if she gets to run alongside Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.), who is running to unseat GOP Sen. Marco Rubio. "We've never tried an African American woman at the top of the ticket running for Senate with a Latina running for governor," she points out. "That's something Democrats have never tried." We chatted about lessons from representing a Trump-leaning district, why Miami-Dade and Latinos are key to any Democratic victory in Florida — and how she's not afraid to call out members of her party (yes, that includes Biden) when she thinks they're wrong. ◆◆◆ This interview has been edited for length and clarity. THE RECAST: Recent polling by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy found Gov. Ron DeSantis has a strong advantage over his Democratic opponents — and you trailing behind your primary opponents, Rep. Charlie Crist and Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried. Why are you the best candidate to face off with Ron DeSantis? TADDEO: As a successful Hispanic businesswoman who has been battle-tested in a Trump district and a mom with a kid in public school — we know that once people start hearing my message, I'm actually the perfect candidate to take on Ron DeSantis. And as far as polling goes, we should ask Adam Putnam [former Florida agriculture commissioner who was polling well ahead in the 2018 Republican primary but ultimately lost to DeSantis] about polling this far out in the race. Or even look back at [former Gov.] Crist when he was up in the double-digits on [Sen. Marco] Rubio in 2010. [Crist, then a Republican, was up in the polls before Rubio ultimately beat him in the GOP primary.]
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| Every week, we sit down with diverse and influential characters who are shaking up politics. Who should we profile next? Let us know. Email us at therecast@politico.com.
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THE RECAST: What sets you apart from your Democratic opponents?
TADDEO: You don't have to be a political insider to know that we as Democrats have had a problem with the Hispanic vote and a problem with just getting people excited about coming out to vote. It's not enough for us to talk about how bad the other guy is and say, oh, "Come out and vote because we need to get rid of this guy." Yes, that's part of it, but for most Democrats they also want to feel that they have to come out to vote for us. That's where my personal story matters and the fact that I have all this clear contrast to Ron DeSantis when it comes to the attacks that have been used successfully against Democrats. The socialism and communism attacks we've seen from Republicans are not really something that has worked on me. I push back with a personal story and don't take it.
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Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist hugs Annette Taddeo, his Democratic lieutenant governor candidate, in November 2014 as they make a campaign stop in Miami. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images | THE RECAST: There has been plenty of coverage on the struggles Florida Democrats are facing after the 2020 election results. Do you feel the party is doing things better in 2022? TADDEO: Are there many things we could be doing? Yes, 100 percent.
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| All the changes I have accomplished, including winning my special election against all odds and then reelection, it all happened in spite of the party saying it couldn't be done and I was crazy. I will add, though, that it is very clear now that there has been a trend of elderly Hispanics having their voter registration switched from Democrat to Republican without their knowledge. We've found clusters of voter switching. I do think there has been a concerted effort by the Republican Party of Florida to switch a lot of voters without their knowledge in order to get the headlines that they've gotten … which have been [aimed at getting] Democrats to forget about Florida, for Democratic donors to walk away. [Late last year, Florida Republicans officially outnumbered Democrats in registered voters for the first time in state history.]
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Florida Sen. Annette Taddeo speaks during a legislative session in April 2021, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. | AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee | THE RECAST: We saw in 2020, how Democrats underperformed in Miami-Dade County, historically a stronghold for the party. How do you get Democratic margins back up in Miami-Dade, especially when the party has struggled to recruit a new bench of candidates for key races? TADDEO: We have seen throughout the country that when we have candidates who specifically create the coalition of voters that are necessary to win … we actually win. We've tried everything else. But we've never tried an African American woman at the top of the ticket running for Senate [Rep. Val Demings] with a Latina running for governor. That's something Democrats have never tried. Now, the math doesn't work if we start Miami-Dade with only a 7-point win. It doesn't matter how well we do in rural areas or with Anglo-Saxons or in the Panhandle or the I-4 corridor. It doesn't matter because the math won't work given the huge number of voters in South Florida. We absolutely must get [them] back. I would not be in this race if I thought my opponents in the primary had the ability to do that. I do not believe they do at all. That's not against them, but I just know that it's going to take someone like me — with a story and speaking the language, not just the literal language, but the language of the culture and the nuances and being able to push back on the typical attacks Republicans have been using successfully against Democrats.
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Democrat Annette Taddeo talks during an interview in Pinecrest, Florida in October 2014. The importance of the Hispanic vote in Florida is such that for the first time, both major parties had a Hispanic candidate for lieutenant governor. | AP Photo/Alan Diaz | THE RECAST: We reported how vocal you were against the Biden administration's decision late last year to delist Colombian guerrilla group FARC as a terrorist organization. How do you feel the Biden administration has done with other issues that affect Florida's Latinos? TADDEO: I'm not afraid to speak up even if it's my own party and my own party's president. I think it's something that's missing in politics — to have the backbone when you don't think something is right. I know that my community agreed with me overwhelmingly [on speaking up about the FARC decision] and of course for me it's also very personal. I think there are ways to go about policy in which it can be explained and educated better. But if you're going to make policy changes that are going to be so difficult for communities to [accept], you have to be present here a lot and you have to be preparing the community for that moment. The White House did not do that — and I think that was a mistake.
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Florida state Sen. Annette Taddeo speaks during a news conference in January 2019 on the political crisis in Venezuela. | AP Photo/Brynn Anderson | On the other hand, when the administration does great things, like something we had been fighting for forever — TPS [temporary protected status] for Venezuelans, no one came, either! When the news was good, there was no one here. Instead, we found out from a newspaper article. This is all so shortsighted. Trump was always here and always having roundtables. He did nothing. He said nothing. He never delivered for Venezuelans, but he was present and it made them feel like he was listening or caring — and we're just not doing that. That's a shame because I think there are great policies and great things we are doing. THE RECAST: Would you welcome Joe Biden campaigning with you if you become the Democratic nominee for governor? TADDEO: Look, I campaigned for Joe Biden, so I don't see why it wouldn't go the other way around, but November is a long ways away from where we are. I do know that in politics a lot can happen between now and then. But yes, I absolutely would.
|  | Let me be clear: That has not been offered, but I do know that, in general, a lot of people will come. Barack Obama, Michelle Obama … there are some very popular Democrats that would be extremely helpful in an election. THE RECAST: What do you wish more people understood about Florida Latinos? TADDEO: We are ready to drive the bus. We are tired of everyone wanting our vote but they want us to sit at the back of the bus. It's time for us to drive it so that we can actually bring everyone together. ◆◆◆ There's a lot of news and a lot of seriousness going on in the world. Here's our suggestions of things to watch, read and, yes, try to de-stress with. Keep an eye out this afternoon: We'll be breaking down Biden's historic nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson today at 3 pm ET. Join our Twitter Spaces here, when Brakkton and Josh Gerstein, POLITICO'S senior legal affairs reporter, interview Christina Swarns, executive director of the Innocence Project, and Tomiko Brown-Nagin, dean of Harvard Radcliffe Institute and author of Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality. Join Morning Money author Kate Davidson on Monday, Feb. 28, at 12 p.m. ET for a Women Rule interview with Cecilia Rouse, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers. The conversation will cover President Biden's economic agenda as he prepares to deliver his first State of the Union, Rouse's historic appointment, and what it will take to elevate more women to leadership ranks in the U.S. economy. Register here to watch live. Did you miss POLITICO'S The Fifty: America's Mayors summit on Thursday? Fear not. We got you. Below are clips of Brakkton and Sabrina interviewing Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. Watch: Brakkton Booker interviews Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens
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| Watch: Sabrina Rodriguez interviews Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava
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| Sonny Calvento's short film "Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss" is the first Filipino film to compete at the Sundance Film Festival. It's a darkly funny satire about the abuse heaped on contract workers in the Philippines. Check it out. Who's watching "Abbott Elementary"? We're not normally sitcom fans, but given all the buzz around Quinta Brunson's new show — and its record-setting ratings — we're putting it on our (very long) watchlist. Former journalist Valerie Wilson Wesley has a new mystery novel, "A Fatal Glow," featuring the sleuthing Odessa Jones, former Realtor now working as a caterer. Things get complicated when her nasty new boss turns up dead at brunch. We'll be sad to see Pamela Adlon's "Better Things" go. Its fifth and final season premieres Monday. An HBO documentary, "Frederick Douglass in Five Speeches," tells the story of the brilliant abolitionist's life through his own words. Actors Nicole Beharie, Colman Domingo, Jonathan Majors, Denzel Whitaker and Jeffrey Wright draw from five of Douglass' legendary speeches, painting a compelling picture of the most famous Black man of the 19th century. Snoop has a new album, "BODR," and a new short film — which he directed — too.
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| And we'll leave you with Carl "Buffalo" Nichols serving up the blues in this NPR Tiny Desk (At Home) Concert.
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| TikTok of the Day: It's always the most reluctant ones...
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