New District 21 Figures Increasingly Favor Martinez

Posted: Apr 08, 2008

District 21 has undergone a drastic change in voter registration with 4,647 new Democratic voters since 2006

According to the latest figures released by the Miami-Dade County and Broward County Department of Elections, District 21 has 4,647 new Democratic voters and 3,877 fewer Republican voters since the 2006 election. That is a net change of 8,524 voters.

This shift favors Raul Martinez, the former Democratic Mayor of Hialeah who is challenging Lincoln Diaz-Balart for the district’s congressional seat. Mayor Martinez was reelected nine times before retiring from office in 2005 and had an 82 percent approval rating in Florida’s most Republican city.

The new numbers are proof that voters are fed up with Lincoln Diaz-Balart’s consistent support for the failed policies of the Bush administration.

“It is a very positive sign that people are registering as Democrats. They want change,” Mayor Martinez said. “But this district needs a representative in Congress that cares about the needs of its residents.”

A punishing housing crisis, an uncertain economy, the endless war in Iraq, skyrocketing diesel and gasoline prices, and above all, Lincoln Diaz-Balart’s lack of leadership, have left the voters of District 21 yearning for new leadership.