Jacob Ogles
Charlie Crist’s campaign for Governor has tapped Lourdes Diaz as its senior adviser for Hispanic Outreach and Media.
Diaz, a veteran media strategist in Hispanic media markets, has previously worked on successful presidential campaigns for Barack Obama and Joe Biden. That included Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns when the Democrat won Florida.
“I am excited to welcome Lourdes to our team as we continue in our mission to restore the soul of our state and build a Florida for all across our diverse and vibrant communities,” Crist said. “Continuing to be an ally to Hispanic Floridians, fighting disinformation and fear mongering head on, and pushing forward on issues of importance to our Hispanic neighbors, like immigration reform, healthcare, and economic opportunity, is a top priority in our campaign to take back the Governor’s mansion in 2022.”
Crist, a former Republican Governor now serving in Congress as a Democrat, announced in May he’s challenging Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ reelection. He faces Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried in the Democratic Primary.
Diaz hails from South Florida. That’s an area where Fried has maintained ties while Crist represents parts of the Tampa Bay area in Congress. It’s also considered key to any Democratic success in 2022. That’s seems especially apparent after successful Republican messaging in 2020 about Democrats shifting toward socialism.
In heavily Hispanic areas like Miami-Dade County, Republicans made huge gains in the 2020 presidential election compared to 2016, helping Donald Trump increase his vote share in Florida even as he lost reelection nationwide.
Diaz serves now as president of the Pembroke Pines Democratic Club and as a precinct committeewoman in the Broward County community. She previously served as president of the Broward Democratic Hispanic Caucus and vice president of the Broward chapter of the Florida Women’s Caucus and League of Women Voters of Miami Dade.
She holds a master’s degree in Global Communications from Florida International University, where she also earned her bachelor’s in Business Administration. She previously served as an adjunct professor at FIU’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
