Miami-Dade Democrats Flip Republican State Senate Seat

MIAMI, FL — Democrat Annette Taddeo narrowly defeated Republican State Rep. Jose Felix Diaz in Tuesday's special election to replace former Florida State Sen. Frank Artiles, who resigned in April amid backlash from his use of a racially charged slur in private conversations with two colleagues. Taddeo received 50.95 percent of the vote as compared to 47.21 percent for Diaz. Independent candidate Christian “He-Man” Schlaerth pulled 1.84 percent of the vote.

Voters overwhelmingly chose Republican Daniel Anthony Perez over Democrat Gabriela Mayaudon for the Florida State House seat in District 116, which was left vacant when Diaz resigned to make a run for the Florida Senate.

Perez received 65.81 percent of the vote compared to 34.19 percent for Mayaudon. (Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Pinecrest Patch.)

"I think there were a lot of voters that were unhappy," Taddeo told Local 10 News after winning a seat in the Republican-controlled Florida Senate. "They're unhappy of the special interests having a voice, of the bills being drafted by big corporations and not by the people."

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In his resignation letter from his District 40 seat one day before his birthday, Artiles apologized to constituents for his behavior.

"It is clear to me my recent actions and words that I spoke fell far short of what I expect for myself, and for this I am very sorry. I apologize to my family and friends and I apologize to all of my fellow senators and lawmakers," Artiles said in his letter. "To the people of my district and all of Miami-Dade, I am sorry I have let you down and ask for your forgiveness."

Taddeo received a total of 22,649 votes compared to 20,985 for Diaz and 820 for Schlaerth.

A native of Colombia, the 50-year-0ld Taddeo has lived in South Florida for more than 30 years. She founded translation business LanguageSpeak, which provides translations in more than 240 languages and has been named one of the top 100 small businesses in Florida and one of the top 500 small businesses in the United States.

In campaign ads, Taddeo sought to tie Diaz to President Trump, who failed to carry Miami-Dade County in the 2016 presidential election though he carried Florida. "Jose Felix Diaz supports Trump's every move, including his plan to slash Medicare, charge older Americans an age tax and cut coverage for preexisting conditions," she charged in one ad. "In Tallahassee, I'll fight for better schools and lower healthcare costs. We can build a better future drama free."

Diaz posted a congratulatory tweet shortly after 10 p.m. on Tuesday.

Prior to his resignation, Artiles apologized for more than three minutes on the floor of the Florida Senate saying his "harsh words have adversely reflected more on me than they could ever have on anyone else."

Both lawmakers who witnessed Artiles' racially charged rant were African-American Democrats. Artiles is a Republican.

In the race for Diaz' seat, Perez had a total of 8,793 votes compared to 4,569 for Mayaudon.

Annette Taddeo photo courtesy of her campaign