Two national groups endorse Aramis Ayala in CD 10

Does Aramis Ayala have a path forward?

Two more national progressive organizations have endorsed former State Attorney Aramis Ayala in her bid for the seat opening in Florida’s 10th Congressional District, her campaign announced Thursday.

Democrats Serve and Way to Lead announced their support for Ayala based on her work as the first Black State Attorney in Florida history and her commitment to support “transformative change” in Congress.

Ayala, who served one sometimes-controversial term as a pro-reform State Attorney for Florida’s 9th Judicial Circuit in Orlando, seeks the congressional seat being vacated by three-term Democratic Rep. Val Demings, representing western Orange County.

The Democrats Serve Political Action Committee provides training and financial support to Democrats nationwide who have civil or public service backgrounds, including many in law enforcement.

“Aramis Ayala knows public service. As a public defender, a prosecutor, and as a state attorney, she’s displayed the courage to take on the status quo, seek justice, and build safer and healthier communities,” Brett Broesder, executive director of Democrats Serve, said in a news release. “For Aramis Ayala, standing up for Florida families isn’t just a job; it’s a way of life. Her experience as a frontline public service pro provides her with first-hand expertise in tackling the toughest challenges our communities face today.”

Way to Lead PAC provides financial support directly and through independent expenditures to Democratic candidates who  work in partnership with movements and communities most impacted by injustice.

“If Democrats hope to maintain a majority come 2022, we have to support candidates that will fight for solutions at the scale of the problems,” Way to Lead adviser Leah-Hunt Hendrix said in the news release. “Way to Lead’s latest candidate list highlights dedicated, public servants who will champion progressive values in Congress — and if we consolidate early, they can win.”

She’s in a crowded Democratic field for what, as currently drawn, is a safe Democratic seat. Other Democratic candidates include Sen. Randolph Bracy, civil rights lawyer Natalie Jackson, the Rev. Terence Gray, grassroots organizer Maxwell Alejandro Frost, teacher Teresa Tachon, Jack Ackenbach, and Eric Atkinson.

Republicans Willie Montague, Carter Morgan, Angela Walls-Windhauser and Mahendranath Rambaransinghan, and independent candidate Jason Holic, also have filed.

In June, Ayala nabbed an endorsement from Howard Dean‘s Democracy for America PAC.