Mitch Perry
Congressional District 27 Democratic candidate Matt Haggman announced Tuesday that he raised more than $402,000 in the last quarter of 2017, and now has taken in $914,000 overall in the race to succeed Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen this November.
Ros-Lehtinen’s announcement in 2017 that she would leave public office after 30 years representing Miami and Miami Beach in congress has made her seat tempting for many Democrats, with no fewer than eight of them jumping into the race thus far.
“We desperately need to turn a new page in our politics. I’m proud to have the support of so many friends and neighbors who are ready to do just that, and I’m proud to be running a campaign powered entirely by people—not PACs,” said Haggman, who has pledged to only accept contributions from people, refusing to accept any contributions from political action committees.
“In 2018, we have an opportunity—not only to stand up to Donald Trump—but also to tell America what we stand for as Democrats. We need to find a new way forward if we want to get back to solving problems and bringing people together in this country.”
Haggman is a former investigative journalist with the Miami Herald who had been working for the Knight Foundation before he stepped down last year to pursue the congressional seat.
The district is certainly ripe to flip from red to blue, as it was a congressional district that voted for Hillary Clinton over Trump by 19 points. CD 27 is one of just 23 House seats nationwide — and one of two in Florida — to vote in favor of Hillary Clinton for president while also sending a Republican to Congress.
The other Democrats in the race include Mary Barzee-Flores, Jose Javier Rodriguez, David Richardson, Kristen Rosen-Gonzalez, Ken Russell, Michael Hepburn and Mark Anthony Person.
Barzee-Flores, Richardson, Rodriguez, Rosen Gonzalez and Russell each boasted six-figure hauls in the third quarter.
Richardson was the first of the octet to give his fourth quarter numbers, announcing on Jan. 3 that he raised more than $500,000 during the last three months of the year and had cracked $1 million raised. However, half of that haul ($250,000) he loaned to his campaign.
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Bruno A. Barreiro is considered the leading contender on the GOP side.
Ros-Lehtinen is one of 29 House Republicans who have announced that they are retiring, running for another office or resigning outright.
Florida’s 27th Congressional district is just one of three open congressional seats currently held by a retiring Republican incumbent that is rated as “lean Democratic” by the Cook Political Report.
