Ryan Nicol
Democratic challenger Mary Barzee Flores is out with her first ad of the general election campaign, hitting incumbent U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart on his health care record.
The pair are competing in Florida’s 25th Congressional District after both candidates went through their respective primaries unopposed.
Now Barzee Flores is seeking to go on the attack, critiquing the congressman in the new ad, “Afford.”
“When I was a teenager, my dad died because we couldn’t afford the health care he needed,” Barzee Flores begins. Her father, Austin Barzee, died suddenly in Barzee Flores’ youth.
“So when Congressman Diaz-Balart takes over a hundred grand from drug companies, votes to let them raise prices and to take coverage away from people with pre-existing conditions, I know exactly how that’s hurting families.
“I’m Mary Barzee Flores, and I approve this message because it’s time we make health care more affordable for everyone.”
The 30-second spot is set to air in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale and Ft. Myers/Naples markets. The ad will run in both English and Spanish.
“I believe that health care is a basic human right,” Barzee Flores said in a statement to Florida Politics.
“In Congress, I will fight every day for health care that is truly universal and affordable for all, not just a privileged few. If given the honor to serve the people of Florida’s 25th district, they will know they have someone in Washington who has their back.
“Unfortunately, that’s not the case today. My opponent, Mario Diaz-Balart, has spent his 30-year political career looking out for the corporate special interests who’ve lined his pockets, not the working men and women of South Florida.”
The Diaz-Balart campaign released a statement in response to the ad, saying, “These are the type of lies you would expect from a radical. Mario has a record of supporting protections for pre-existing conditions, providing resources for mental illness, and seeking to lower skyrocketing premiums for hardworking Floridians.”
Barzee Flores’ ad comes after Diaz-Balart went after her in an earlier ad over cases handled by attorneys at her husband’s law firm.
