Release Luis

Luis Garcia drops bid, leaving Dems without a candidate.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012 | 11:59 a.m.

State Rep. Luis Garcia (D) announced on April 2 "that he will drop out" of the race against Rep.David Rivera (D) and instead "run for Miami-Dade Commission." Garcia: "As I'm looking around, I think I can affect more issues here, at the local level. ... The way the county is managed right now, you have different kingdoms. A commissioner is basically a king ... They are not responsive to their constituents."

"Garcia also said he will likely leave the Democratic Party and have no party affiliation because he is so disappointed with how" nat'l Dems treated him in the cong. campaign. "The question now" for Dems "is whether they will be able to find a viable candidate able to raise enough money and enough of a profile to challenge Rivera."

Dems have said "they want to target Rivera's swing seat ... because Rivera has been under a cloud of investigations into his personal and campaign finances since before taking office. However, the state investigation against Rivera has stalled, and the candidates" Dems have "tried to recruit appear reluctant to run." Ex-Miami-Dade commis. Jimmy Morales (D) "said he is not running," and ex-Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas (D) told Miami Herald on March 30 "that he was not sure he would jump in the race even if Garcia, as was rumored, dropped out." Penelas: "I'm enjoying my time at home, and the thought of getting on a plane and being away from home three or four times a week. ... Even if Luis doesn't run, I'd still have to get on that plane Monday morning."

A Dem insider "says the party has also put out feelers to political rookies who might be interested in running for office." Garcia: "They're going to revive a couple of political cadavers that have lost other elections. ... They missed a big opportunity to take that seat back" (Mazzei, "Naked Politics," Miami Herald, 4/2).