Anitere Flores endorses Omar Blanco over Irina Vilariño in CD 26

Helping families cope: A Senate bill from Anitere Flores would ask people with driver’s license and registration renewals if they would chip in to help fight childhood cancer. Image via Twitter.

Outgoing GOP state Sen. Anitere Flores is throwing her support behind Republican congressional candidate Omar Blanco in Florida’s 26th Congressional District.

Blanco is competing with restaurant owner Irina Vilariño for the Republican nomination to take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.

Blanco, the head of Miami-Dade Firefighters Local 1403, entered the race on Aug. 19 and is picking up Flores’ support just over a week later.

“I have known Omar and his family for several years, and I have seen firsthand the tenacity and leadership that will serve him well in Washington, D.C.,” Flores said.

“I applaud his commitment to our community and can assure you he will lead with a determination like no other candidate.”

Flores represents Senate District 39, which partly overlaps with CD 26. She’ll be term-limited in 2020.

One of her major bills approved during the 2019 Legislative Session was a measure mandating expanded cancer coverage for firefighters. Blanco said he was appreciative of her work on that bill.

“As President of Miami-Dade Local 1403, Sen. Flores became a trusted advisor and, most importantly, a close friend,” Blanco said.

“Anitere is not only a remarkable role model, she is also a dedicated public servant who will be integral in ensuring that we flip Congressional District 26 red. I am humbled by her support.”

The CD 26 contest could be a close one in 2020. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has placed Mucarsel-Powell in its Frontline Program. That program is aimed at identifying potentially vulnerable Democratic incumbents with the goal of diverting more resources to help them hold their respective seats.

Mucarsel-Powell ousted Republican U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo in 2018 by less than two percentage points.

The possibility of Republicans flipping the seat prompted a challenge from Vilariño, but she’s courted controversy since. A report from Talking Points Memo detailed Vilariño defending controversial tweets, including a fake video pushing the Barack Obama birther conspiracy.

Vilariño has accused Blanco of being backed by Mucarsel-Powell to force a contest among Republicans.

“It has been rumored for weeks that Debbie Murcasel-Powell has been encouraging a Republican primary so that she can be better positioned for re-election victory,” Vilariño said, without providing evidence for those alleged rumors.

“The voters are not stupid, and we look forward to this campaign. Unlike Blanco, our focus remains on defeating the leftist agenda of Nancy Pelosi and returning sound economic principles to Congress.”

Blanco has also courted support in recent days from Miami-Dade County Commissioners Joe Martinez and Javier Souto.