Scott Powers
Maxwell Alejandro Frost‘s Democratic campaign for Florida’s 10th Congressional District is announcing endorsements from Orange County Property Appraiser Amy Mercado and Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith.
The endorsements from two of Orlando’s leading progressive Democrats continues momentum for Frost’s campaign, which started 10 months ago as an apparent longshot by a young activist in a district that had drawn higher-profile, establishment Democrats.
Smith is a three-term Democratic state Representative from Orlando Mercado is in her first term as Property Appraiser after serving two terms as a Democratic state Representative from Orlando. Both are former chairs of the Orange County Democratic Party, and they cofounded the Legislative Progressive Caucus.
Frost faces Sen. Randolph Bracy, the Rev. Terence Gray, civil rights lawyer Natalie Jackson, and Jeff Boone, who announced Monday that he has qualified for the ballot, and others in the Aug. 23 Democratic Primary Election.
“Maxwell has a vision of politics that says if you love somebody — you want them to have healthcare, you want them to have a good-paying job and all the things that will help them thrive,” Mercado said in a news release issued by Frost’s campaign.
In the release, Smith charged that Florida’s Republican state leadership was working to strip abortion rights, erase the LGBTQ community and prevent honest history teaching, and that people needed federal leadership who could stand strong against attacks on such freedoms.
“Maxwell Alejandro Frost is the bold leader Central Florida needs in Congress to take on these fights and I will do everything I can to get him elected,” Smith said in the release.
In addition to announcing a slew of endorsements, Frost’s campaign has outdone the others in raising campaign money, at least through the end of March.
Jackson’s campaign on Monday announced she had received the endorsement of The Dream Foundation PAC, affiliated with The Dream Foundation, which is a statewide non-profit that focuses on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the sales of its “Live The Dream” specialty license plate.
CD 10, now redistricted to cover an area spanning much of northern Orange County, is expected to have a strong Democratic lean, based on the past couple of General Elections
Republicans vying for the seat include non-profit executive Willie Montague, retired Army Col. Calvin Wimbish, and Thuy Lowe.
They’re all vying for a seat held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Demings, who is running for Senate rather than for re-election.
