José Javier Rodríguez, Lucía Báez-Geller among SAVE's early 2026 endorsements

A lot of people think endorsements don’t matter anymore in South Florida politics. And many times they don’t. That’s because plenty of political organizations slap logos on mailers and call it activism.

Not SAVE.

South Florida’s longest-serving, grassroots LGBTQ+ rights organization has spent more than three decades turning advocacy into actual electoral muscle — on the ground and in the bank — especially in low-turnout Miami-Dade and Broward races where a few hundred energized voters, volunteers and donors can make all the difference.

And now the group is rolling into the 2026 midterms.

SAVE stands for Safeguarding American Values for Everyone and was originally founded in the early 1990s in the lingering shadow of the Anita Bryant wars and Miami-Dade’s ugly anti-gay political history. The organization has had decades of political advocacy behind it and this week released its first round of endorsements for what Democrats are already treating like a life-or-death election cycle in Florida.

The early “SAVE Selects” slate includes former State Sen. José Javier Rodríguez for Attorney General, along with a cluster of South Florida legislative candidates: Mitch Rosenwald, Lucia Báez-Geller, Dinah Escarment and SAVE Executive Director Todd Delmay, which is the kind of small-world South Florida political incest that makes us so endlessly entertaining.

But the organization clearly wants people to understand something bigger is happening here. This is not just a Pride Month photo-op rollout with rainbow graphics and vague hashtags about love.

SAVE is signaling that it intends to be an organizing machine in 2026. In its announcement, the group emphasized months of voter-contact work, volunteer mobilization and infrastructure-building in places like Miami, Miami Beach and Surfside ahead of next year’s elections.

In other words, they’re not waiting until October.

That matters because SAVE’s influence has never really been about flashy television ads or overpowering money. Its real strength historically has been coalition politics — helping candidates consolidate progressive support, attract donors, activate LGBTQ-heavy precincts and reassure Democratic establishment figures that somebody has been properly vetted on equality issues.

Back in the day, getting endorsed by SAVE actually carried political risk in Florida. Candidates sought the organization’s support anyway because it signaled they were willing to publicly stand for nondiscrimination protections, LGBTQ inclusion and anti-bullying policies long before those positions became mainstream Democratic boilerplate.

Now? In many Democratic circles, pro-LGBTQ rhetoric is practically mandatory.

But under Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida’s broader rightward lurch — remember the “Don’t Say Gay” law and this year’s erasure of rainbow crosswalks — groups like SAVE have regained a sharper political edge as battles over schools, Pride events, drag performances and transgender rights moved back to center stage.

Which is exactly why these endorsements matter more than they might have five or six years ago.

Especially the Attorney General race, which is a big one this year.

Rodríguez, a former legislator and Assistant Secretary of Labor, is trying to position himself as Democrats’ legal counterweight to Tallahassee’s culture-war machinery. He’s got a pretty easy primary, but the general will be up against the gov’s handpicked culture-war consigliere turned attorney general James Uthmeier, a slick-haired MAGA crony who climbed from the governor’s inner sanctum straight into statewide office without ever pretending to be anything but a loyal soldier.

Yes, Rodríguez, a former legal services attorney who has built his career on justice of all kinds, already has credibility with progressive activists and LGBTQ voters, but SAVE’s endorsement plugs him into an organizing network that knows how to fundraise and work South Florida precincts.

In the other race watched by Political Cortadito, SAVE endorsed Báez-Geller, a teacher and former Miami-Dade School Board member whose experience on inclusion issues during her tenure is pretty well-known. She has a primary against Ashley Litwin Diego, who as a client of Christian Ulvert, will already have strong campaign infrastructure. And she’s been stomping on Báez-Geller grounds, talking to PTAs at elementary schools.

This primary is no snoozer, but it is just an opening act for the main attraction. Because whoever gets out of August will face State Rep. Fabián Basabe, a one-time Manhattan party boy turned high-profile freshman in the legislature after he won a very close race in 2022 (by 245 votes!). He has since become known in Florida political circles for repeated headlines involving allegations of erratic behavior, harassment claims and personal drama. Those include accusations from former aides of sexual harassment and inappropriate comments, allegations that he slapped a legislative aide, prior arrests and disorderly conduct incidents, and stories about confrontations at Miami Beach hotels and events.

He has denied many of the allegations or characterized them as politically motivated.

“Every investigation, ethics complaint, and third party review resulted in nofidings against me and no corroboration of the claims,” Basabe texted Ladra, obviously oblivious to how much that is not a flex.

But last year, he interrupted a rally to protect a rainbow crosswalk in Miami Beach and called it “fake outrage.”

In Miami political gossip culture, Basabe is often described as a kind of hybrid of “South Beach socialite turned culture-war Republican lawmaker.” Even people who support him politically tend to acknowledge that his outsized personality and controversies are a huge part of his public identity. Supporters, meanwhile, say he’s real and accessible.

In the other two races, Rosenwald — who represents district 98, which serves parts of Broward County, including the cities of Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Lauderdale Lakes, Oakland Park, Pompano Beach, and Tamarac — continues consolidating support as one of the Legislature’s openly gay Democratic lawmakers. And Delmay — running against Democrat turncoat and Republican incumbent Hillary Cassel in District 101 — is making the unusually awkward transition from advocacy executive to candidate himself. Which means somewhere in Broward County there is probably already a campaign consultant nervously asking whether SAVE volunteers now count as independent expenditures or coworkers.

Still, the larger takeaway is this: SAVE is trying to remind Florida Democrats that infrastructure matters. Not tweets. Not outrage. Not one-day viral moments.

Doors. Phones. Volunteers. Voter lists. Coalition-building. That’s the boring stuff that actually wins elections.

And if history is any guide, dismissing SAVE as just another endorsement factory would be a mistake. In South Florida municipal and legislative politics, the group has quietly helped shape races for years.

SAVE has said that this is only the first round of endorsements. So, that means they have many more to come.

This kind of independent, government watchdog reporting is crucial to transparency and democracy. And more so every day. Help shine a light on the darker corners of our community with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Click here. Ladra thanks you for your support.

José Javier Rodríguez, Lucía Báez-Geller among SAVE’s early 2026 endorsements added by Ladra on May 17, 2026
View all posts by Ladra →