Ryan Nicol
State Rep. David Richardson, a Democratic candidate in Florida’s 27th Congressional District, keeps pressing for the impeachment of President Donald Trump in a new TV spot.
The ad, titled “Impeachment,” features Richardson in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
“There’s one word official Washington does not want you to hear,” begins Richardson. He then attempts to say the word “impeachment” repeatedly, though it is censored each time.
Finally, he gets the word out, adding, “I’m the only candidate in this race to offer an impeachment bill in the legislature. You don’t hear Donna Shalala talking about impeachment.”
That latter remark is a shot at Shalala, one of his Democratic primary opponents in CD 27. While Shalala has said she would vote to impeach President Trump as well, she also said the focus of Democrats should be on winning as many seats in the House and Senate as possible.
Richardson closes the ad by saying, “If separating families at the border, raising health care costs, siding with Vladimir Putin, and the constant lying is not enough to impeach Donald Trump, what is?”
There has been much debate on whether Democrats should make impeachment a campaign issue in the midterms prior to the conclusion of the report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi has warned Democrats not to campaign on impeachment, arguing it could be used against them as a way to motivate Republican turnout.
Nevertheless, Richardson is running with it: “At the beginning of my campaign, I promised to be a courageous progressive,” said Richardson, in a statement on his new ad.
“While the Democratic establishment stays quiet on progressive causes like impeaching Donald Trump, I have the courage to speak out and promote all parts of my progressive platform. Voters are sick of establishment Democrats selling out to big corporations and abandoning the issues they care about. That will change with me.”
Richardson had represented House District 113 since 2012. He’s competing with Shalala, former Knight Foundation Program Director Matt Haggman, former University of Miami academic adviser Michael A. Hepburn, and Miami Beach Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez for the CD 27 nomination.
