Former Lawmaker To Seek Artiles Senate Seat
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/NSF) - Former state Rep. Ana Rivas Logan has joined Democratic contenders in a special election for a Miami-Dade County Senate seat vacated by Frank Artiles.
Rivas Logan, a former Republican who served in the state House for one term before losing a re-election bid in 2012, will face off against at least two other Democrats already vying for the nomination in Senate District 40.
State Rep. Daisy Baez, a Coral Gables health-care executive elected to the House last fall, and Annette Taddeo, who was her party's unsuccessful candidate for lieutenant governor in 2014 and also lost a bid for Congress last year, have announced their intentions to run for the post.
Two high-profile Miami-Dade Republicans, state Rep. Jose Felix Diaz and former Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla, are in a GOP primary contest to succeed Artiles, who was forced to resign last month after a vulgar tirade at a Tallahassee members-only club.
Gov. Rick Scott has scheduled a July 25th primary election and special general election September 26th.
Rivas Logan, a former Miami-Dade County School Board member, says she has maintained widespread support in the Senate district, including from Republicans and independents who supported her school board bid in 2004.
"It's not about choosing a Democratic candidate who can win a Democratic primary," Logan said of the July primary. "It's about choosing a Democratic candidate who can win the general election."
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.
