Democrat Ferre Backing Republican Scott for Florida Governor

Former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre, who himself was a long-shot candidate for U.S. Senate earlier this year, has surprised many in his party by crossing the aisle to endorse Republican Rick Scott for governor.

The former six-term mayor and state representative released a statement endorsing Scott on October 19: “On November 2, I will vote for Rick Scott to be Governor of Florida,” he said. “I have never voted for a Republican in the 54 years I have voted, and I have never missed voting since I became of age in Miami.”

Ferre is still upset that he wasn’t taken seriously by the Democratic Party during his U.S. Senate campaign. His exclusion from the debates is a particularly sore point.

“Despite the fact that I am a Democrat, I am deeply disturbed by the exclusionary direction of the Florida Democratic Party. Even though I was the first Hispanic Democrat elected to the Florida state legislature and the first Hispanic Democrat elected Mayor of a major US City, I was denied the opportunity to address the Florida State Democratic Convention and denied the opportunity to participate in the Democratic US Senate Debates,” Ferre says. “This ‘politics of exclusion’ is an insult to every Hispanic voter in our state. Too many 2010 Democratic office seekers stood by silently as these injustices were perpetrated.”

Ferre, who is highly critical of both major parties, continued on to explain that he’s spent time talking to Scott and believes that he really is the better choice for governor.

“Both the Republican and Democratic parties of Florida are broken; the first, by corruption and lying, the Democrats by ineptitude, unfairness and undemocratic ways,” the former Miami mayor said. “Mine will not be a vote for a political party; mine will be a vote for a person. I’ve spent time with Rick Scott. We talked about substantive issues. I am convinced Rick Scott has a superior understanding of the challenges that face our state.”

This weekend, Ferre went a step further by appearing with Scott at a campaign rally in South Florida.

The former mayor’s backing has been a welcome boost for the Scott campaign, which has struggled to attract both Democratic and Hispanic votes. During the GOP primary, Attorney General Bill McCollum scored some of his strongest showings in the heavily Cuban areas of South Florida.

Despite finishing a distant fourth in the Democratic primary for Senate, winning only about 5% of the vote, Ferre is still relatively well known and liked in the Miami area. He won about 13% of the vote in Miami-Dade County and nearly beat Democrat Jeff Greene there.

To learn more about Ferre’s US Senate bid, read Darcy Richardson’s excellent article: “Waiting for a Wave: Maurice Ferre’s Steady Quest for the U.S. Senate”