To: Interested Parties
From: Jermaine House, South Regional Press Secretary
Date: August 30, 2016
Re: Memo: The Case Against Carlos Curbelo
With the conclusion of tonight’s primary, Carlos Curbelo heads into a toxic general election environment as one of the most vulnerable Republican incumbents in the country. Curbelo’s reelection prospects first slimmed when a court ruling reshaped the district with more Democratic voters, but Donald Trump becoming the Republican Party’s standard-bearer is even more devastating for Curbelo. Because African American and Latino voters make up 73 percent of this district’s voting age population, Curbelo has embarrassingly scrambled to distance himself from his party’s racist leader, but there is no escape from the down-ballot damage Trump has caused the vulnerable Miami incumbent.
The Latino Majority will Reject the Trump-Curbelo Ticket
One of defining characteristics of Donald Trump’s campaign has been his incessant attacks on the Latino community. From calling Mexican immigrants “rapists,” to his plans to deport 11 million Americans, and his attacks against Judge Curiel’s Mexican heritage, Trump has done irreparable damage to the Republican brand among Latinos. Polling in this district reflects this damage and the data are daunting for Carlos Curbelo’s path to reelection. In this district where 60 percent of the voters are Latino, Trump trails Hillary Clinton by 24 points. It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which Curbelo over-performs the top of the ticket by more than 20 points given that, in 2012, House Republicans who over-performed the top of the ticket only did so by an average of just four points.
When His Leadership Mattered Most, Curbelo Was Absent
From the moment GOP leaders rewarded Curbelo with a role in party leadership, he has never been able to stand up to his colleagues’ anti-immigrant agenda. He has been complicit with the obstructionist Congress and consistently fallen in line with Republicans on reckless proposals, often against the interest of the Latino community. He used his leadership PAC, which was allegedly set up to boost Republicans who support immigration reform, to prop up anti-immigration hardliners. He enthusiastically embraced Paul Ryan just minutes after the Speaker promised to not pursue immigration reform, in order to gain support from the Freedom Caucus. Curbelo will pay a price at the ballot box for his cowardice, because if South Florida’s own congressman doesn’t have the courage to stand up for one of his region’s greatest priorities, voters will look for someone who will.
Curbelo’s Dismal Record on Zika
Carlos Curbelo’s willingness to fall in line with his party’s obstructionists doesn’t stop at immigration reform. Even as South Florida faces a public health crisis, he still fails the leadership test. Curbelo’s record on funding a Zika response is nothing short of a shameful series of lies, misdirection, and cowardice. In July, Carlos Curbelo took to the House floor to declare that he “consistently advocated for full funding at the administration’s request,” when in fact it took Curbelo three months to adopt this position, which he did only after he was criticized by the Miami Herald. Days later, Curbelo blamed Democrats for the Republican riders that were attached to – and ultimately sank – a bill that would have funded the response to the health crisis. Lastly, Curbelo is on the record voting five times against legislation to provide full resources to fight Zika.
Conclusion
In a district where Hillary Clinton is beating Trump by double digits, there is little doubt that the Trump-Curbelo ticket will be rejected by voters in Florida’s 26th District this fall.