Mike Davey debuts CD 27 ads highlighting reproductive choice, labor rights work

Former Key Biscayne Mayor Mike Davey just launched a six-figure ad buy to let voters in Florida’s 27th Congressional District know where he stands on reproductive rights and protecting people’s freedom.

Two ads are now running on cable, streaming services and online in the Miami market. Both contrast Davey’s position with “extremist Republicans (who) attack women’s rights and democracy,” his campaign said.

“As a Mayor and labor attorney, I’ve spent my life fighting for everyday people,” said Davey, a Democrat, in a prepared statement.

“Our rights and future are on the line in this election — I’m running for Congress because this is a fight we have to win. I won’t stop fighting until we do.”

One ad, titled “Fight for our Democracy & Freedom,” warns viewers that “corporations are gouging (American) families at every turn” while women’s rights and democracy are under attack.

The second ad is titled “Defend Reproductive Freedom” and includes shots of Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar, whom Davey hopes to supplant in November.

“Our freedoms are under attack by extremist Republicans who think they can tell women what to do with their bodies,” he said, referring to Florida’s six-week abortion ban that DeSantis signed last year and Salazar’s anti-abortion voting record, which earned her an A+ rating from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.

The new ads debut on the heels of recent internal polling by his campaign showing him in a dead heat with Salazar in CD 27, which Salazar has represented since 2021 after defeating Democrat Donna Shalala.

Davey faces Miami-Dade School Board member Lucia Báez-Geller in the Democratic Primary. Through the first quarter of 2024, he outraised her by $73,000.

Salazar, meanwhile, faces Republican Primary challengers Royland Lara and Frank Polo. Federal Election Commission records show she had more than $1.25 million left in her campaign coffers by the end of Q1, compared to $408 for Polo and nothing for Lara.

CD 27 covers Miami, Coral Gables, Cutler Bay, Key Biscayne, Pinecrest, North Bay Village, South Miami, West Miami and several unincorporated Miami-Dade County neighborhoods.

The Primary is on Aug. 20, followed by the General Election on Nov. 5.