Mario Díaz-Balart
Mario Díaz-Balart | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 25th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | David Rivera |
| In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | David Rivera |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 21st district | |
| In office January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Lincoln Díaz-Balart |
| Succeeded by | Ted Deutch |
| Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 112th district | |
| In office 2000–2002 | |
| Preceded by | Alex Villalobos |
| Succeeded by | David Rivera |
| Member of the Florida Senate from the 37th district | |
| In office 1992–2000 | |
| Preceded by | Gwen Margolis |
| Succeeded by | Alex Villalobos |
| Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 115th district | |
| In office 1988–1992 | |
| Preceded by | Javier Souto |
| Succeeded by | Carlos Manrique |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mario Rafael Díaz-Balart Caballero September 25, 1961 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Tia Díaz-Balart |
| Alma mater | University of South Florida, Tampa (BA) |
| Website | Official website |
Mario Rafael Díaz-Balart Caballero (born September 25, 1961) is a Republican U.S. Representative from Florida. He has represented a district in the Miami area since 2003, currently numbered as the 25th district. His current district includes much of southwestern Miami-Dade County, including the city of Hialeah, as well as much of the northern portion of the Everglades.
Early life, education, and early political career
Díaz-Balart was born in 1961 in Fort Lauderdale, to Cuban parents, the late Cuban politician Rafael Díaz-Balart, and his wife, Hilda Caballero Brunet. His aunt, Mirta Díaz-Balart, was the first wife of Fidel Castro. Her son, and his cousin, is Fidel Ángel "Fidelito" Castro Díaz-Balart. His uncle is the Cuban-Spanish painter, Waldo Díaz-Balart. His brother, Lincoln Díaz-Balart, represented Florida's 21st District from 1993 to 2011. He has two other brothers, José Díaz-Balart, a journalist, and Rafael Díaz-Balart, a banker.
He attended the University of South Florida to study political science before beginning his public service career as an aide to then-Miami Mayor Xavier Suárez in 1985. In the same year, he changed his political party affiliation from Democratic to Republican.[1]
Florida legislature
He was elected to the Florida House in 1988 and moved to the Florida Senate in 1992. He returned to the Florida House in 2000. During his second tenure in the House, he chaired the redistricting committee.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
- 2002–2006
Díaz-Balart gave up his seat in the state house to run in the newly created 25th District, which included most of western Miami-Dade County, part of Collier County and the mainland portion of Monroe County. It was widely believed that he had drawn this district for himself, given that he was chairman of the state house redistricting committee. He easily won the seat with 64 percent of the vote. He was unopposed for reelection in 2004, and won a third term with 58 percent of the vote in 2006.
- 2008
In 2008, however, Díaz-Balart faced his strongest challenge to date in Joe García, former Executive Director of the Cuban American National Foundation and former chairman of the Miami-Dade County Democratic Party. Despite the perception that Díaz-Balart had drawn the district for himself, it was actually fairly marginal on paper, with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+4. Ultimately, Díaz-Balart defeated Garcia with 53 percent of the vote.
- 2010
On February 11, 2010, Díaz-Balart announced his intention to seek election in Florida's 21st congressional district—being vacated by his brother, Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart—rather than the 25th district.[2] Unlike the 25th, the 21st has long been considered the most Republican district in the Miami area.
No other party even put up a candidate when filing closed on April 30, handing the seat to Mario Diaz-Balart.[3]
- 2012
Díaz-Balart was reelected unopposed in 2012 in the renumbered 25th district. Indeed, since this district's creation in 1993 (it was numbered as the 21st from 1993 to 2013), the Republican candidate has run unopposed in all but two elections.
Tenure
Díaz-Balart's voting record is moderate to conservative. For his first two terms in Congress, Díaz-Balart was a member of the conservative Republican Study Committee.
He is a founding member of the Congressional Hispanic Conference, a caucus of Hispanic Republican congressmen. Like his Cuban-American colleagues in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, Díaz-Balart is a strong advocate of maintaining the Cuban embargo, saying "Some people do not understand the embargo of Cuba. Its purpose is to keep American hard currency out of the hands of a Communist thug by restricting most trade and travel."[4]
On September 29, 2008, Díaz-Balart voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008[5]
Committee assignments
Caucus membership
- Assistant Whip
- Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Conference
- Founder of the Protecting Families Online Initiative
- Founding member of the Washington Waste Watchers
- Member of the Congressional Cuba Democracy Caucus
- Republican Main Street Partnership
Personal life
He currently lives in Miami with his wife Tia and son Cristian Rafael.[6]
References
- ^ El Nuevo Herald, Díaz-Balart Se Pasa Al Partido Republicano, April 24, 1985
- ^ "Mario Díaz-Balart Will Run to Succeed His Brother". Roll Call. 2010-02-11. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
- ^ "Candidates and Races - Candidate Tracking system - Florida Division of Elections - Department of State". state.fl.us.
- ^ [1] Archived April 4, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 681". FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 681. US House of Representatives.
- ^ http://mariodiazbalart.house.gov/about-mario/biography
External links
- Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart official U.S. House site
- Mario Díaz-Balart for Congress
- Template:Dmoz
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1961 births
- American politicians of Cuban descent
- Cuban-American Republicans
- Díaz-Balart family
- Florida Republicans
- Florida State Senators
- Hispanic and Latino American members of the United States Congress
- Living people
- Members of the Florida House of Representatives
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida
- People from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Politicians from Miami
- Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives
- University of South Florida alumni