Florida State Sen. Annette Taddeo (D-FL-40) announced her bid for governor yesterday, raising the number of Democrats in the gubernatorial race to three. Taddeo is joining her former gubernatorial running mate from 2014, Congressman Charlie Crist (D-FL-13), and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried in the Democratic primary race.
“I believe we can inspire Floridians to raise their sights and elect a Governor to represent all Floridians,” said Taddeo in a debut video. “I am a life-long Democrat and I am running for Governor because Florida, I believe in us. With our fighting spirit, there is no limit to how high or how far we can fly.”
Breaking news: I’m running for Governor of our great state of Florida, because I believe in us! Yo confío en nosotros. Join us and let's make history. pic.twitter.com/5o9n6T4hBD
— Annette Taddeo (She/Her/Ella) (@Annette_Taddeo) October 18, 2021
Taddeo represents a part of South Florida, particularly south Miami-Dade County, where she works as a small business owner. Taddeo was raised in Colombia and moved to the United States when she was a teenager after her father was captured by Revolutionary Armed Forces guerilla fighters (FARC guerrillas).
On Taddeo’s website, she touts her support for progressive policies including: healthcare for all, supporting protections for people within the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and banning so-called “assault weapons” and “expanded magazines.”
Taddeo took time to note why she is running for a position her former friend and running mate is also seeking.
“I actually have tremendous respect for Charlie. I love Charlie, and I know he has a huge heart, but this race is not about Charlie or about me,” Taddeo said. “This race is about the future Floridians and who is going to be the best person to create the coalition and to create the excitement from the ground up for us to win in Florida.”
In her comments, she also criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for his actions centered around not imposing mask mandates and said his behavior is similar to Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.
“This governor is currently behaving more like the people we cry foul against,” Taddeo said. “Those are the places, [like Venezuela], where you take the funding away. Those are the places where you threaten to remove people from their duly-elected office.”
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at the Florida Capital Star and the Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
Photo “Annette Taddeo” by Annette Taddeo. Photo “Florida State Capitol” by Michael Rivera CC BY-SA 3.0.
