Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Carlos Lopez-Cantera is taking a swipe at Carlos Beruff, saying his Republican opponent is playing “political dodgeball” with Florida voters.
In a memo Wednesday, Courtney Alexander, a spokeswoman for the Lopez-Cantera campaign, said Beruff has dodged voters on several occasions. She pointed to Beruff’s decision to skip a Senate forum and questions about a trip to Cuba as examples.
“Just last week, Carlos Beruff dodged Florida voters by canceling yet another public appearance with Carlos Lopez-Cantera and other candidates at the first Republican Senate forum, thinking he could get away with avoiding Floridians,” she said in the memo. “Beruff is truly mastering the five D’s of political dodgeball every time he continues to dodge, duck, dip, dive, and again, dodge the voters. It’s as if Beruff is fronting his own dodgeball team.”
Beruff was expected to attend a Republican Senate forum organized by America First in Palm Beach on June 2. However, on the day of the event, Beruff’s campaign said he wouldn’t be at the forum because of “scheduling conflict.”
The four other candidates — Lopez-Cantera, David Jolly, Ron DeSantis, and Todd Wilcox — were in attendance.
The Lopez-Cantera campaign also said Beruff is dodging questions about a trip to Cuba. He visited the country in 2011 with a delegation of Tampa Bay area activists who were pushing for an end to the embargo. Beruff has taken a tough line on President Barack Obama’s decision to begin opening up diplomatic channels with the country.
“He could have clarified his positions had he attended last week’s forum, but instead Beruff chose to dodge standing before Florida voters and his Republican opponents in public forums. It all makes one wonder how many other future events ‘Bailing Beruff’ will cancel on to avoid his opponents,” said Alexander in her memo. “Are Floridians ever going to hear from Beruff in a forum or a debate or will he continue to treat the Senate race like a game of dodgeball?”
