Senate 40 race: Ana Rivas Logan still in it, could win it

Another negative mailer connecting Donald Trump to a candidate arrived in mailboxes this week. But this one attacks a fellow Democrat — and one who had suspended her campaign, no less.

And this time, it may have backfired — because former State Rep. Ana Rivas Logan is a little riled and refuses to withdraw her name from the ballot.

Trust fund baby Andrew Korge is apparently so afraid of Rivas Logan’s pull and name rec — even without her spending a dime on mailers or ads — that he hit her with an attack ad this week saying Trump and Rivas Logan are “right wingers with a lot in common.”

The one Ladra got to see was in Spanish and arrived Tuesday — long after the Democrat in our house voted, by the way. “Logan y Trump son extremistas de la ultraderecha,” says the one side. Do we even have to translate that? Then it says that “Ana Rivas Logan’s vote history would make Donald Trump proud.”

It cites votes she made in the state house in favor of the NRA (for open carry) and against teachers (for teacher testing) and public schools (for school vouchers) and against a woman’s right to choose (for waiting periods and required ultrasounds).

But what it doesn’t explain is that Rivas Logan was, indeed, a Republican at one time. She turned blue after her party turned its back on her and espoused what she calls an anti-immigrant stance.

And guess what? She was considered a soft or weak Republican back then. Some called her a RINO (Republican in Name Only). Not totally right wing. She didn’t always vote with the party, and was someone who could build consensus across the aisle. That’s why her colleagues abandoned her to support State Rep. Jose Felix Diaz in 2012 after they were drawn into the same district.

Rivas Logan must be psychic. She suspended her campaign because she knew that there would be negative mailers coming. She probably got the inkling when Andrew Korge visited her and urged her (read: tried to bully her) to run for another seat. According to several sources, the state attorney’s office has interviewed several people about Korge’s alleged shakedown tactics, which include an alleged bribe of $25,000 to Sen. Dwight Bullard to change seats, too.

Anyway, Ana’s parents are elderly. When she announced she would suspend her campaign, she said she was doing it to take care of her parents. What she meant was she didn’t want them to have a heart attack over another mailer saying she wasn’t really Cuban, like Jose Felix Diaz sent.

“Balancing the care my parents need and what will be in-the-gutter campaign tactics by some in the race, I have chosen to suspend my campaign today knowing that my future in public service is not over,” Rivas Logan wrote in a note to supporters. Key words: “Not over.”

Well, since suspending the race didn’t stop the attacks, Rivas Logan seems to be getting re-engaged.

“I am not going to be intimidated and I am not going to withdraw my name from the ballot,” Rivas Logan told me, adding that she was asked by the Korge Camp to officially withdraw, which would cause the elections department to toss out any votes for her (or not count them).

As it stands, votes for Ana Rivas Logan count. And she could win.

And Ladra bets she does. That’s why Korge is attacking her. His poll numbers show the same thing that Ladra hears from other political observers and consultants. Rivas Logan’s name rec is enviable. She has served that same constituency as a state rep and as a school board member. She is considered a good Cuban mother and daughter by the predominantly Cuban voter bloc. And she’s gotten a lot of valuable earned media in recent months in both English and Spanish precisely because she is one of the few Hispanic Democrats in Miami-Dade (she and former Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez should charge a fee for their appearances).

In other words, she really doesn’t need to do anything. This mailer will backfire with some people and let them know she is still in the race. Others will just see her name on the ballot and bubble in that number.

That’s a good thing. Because she doesn’t have any money to do anything. She hasn’t raised any funds since mid July, for two reporting periods, and has about $14,000 in hand.

What sucks is that the Florida Democratic Party, out of a delusional sense of duty to incumbent Sen. Bullard, refused to help Rivas Logan in the primary. And they should have. Because she is best suited to beat Republican State Rep. Frank Artiles — who has already started sending mailers to independent voters in the district, no less (more on that later).

Korge also hit Bullard again. Ladra’s house received the same mailer yesterday calling the senator untrustworthy and citing multiple campaign violations and fines. This time, in Spanish. Korge also has sent a few touting himself as the new breath of the Democrat party. In fact, Ladra bets that he has the most mailers of any candidate in any state race so far.

Wouldn’t it be funny if Ana won without mailing a single one?

Ana Rivas Logan, Andrew Korge, Dwight Bullard

Senate 40 race: Ana Rivas Logan still in it, could win it added by Ladra on August 9, 2016
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