The DCCC is the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the arm of the Democratic Party that helps candidates running for congress. But according to one such candidate, those initials should really stand for “double-crossers, connivers and cowards.”
Luis Garcia, a Florida State Representative, who is challenging Republican incumbent Rep. David Rivera in the state’s 25th Congressional District, made the comments to the Miami Herald.
Garcia is upset because earlier this month, the DCCC reached out to another Democrat, former Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas, and asked him to run in the Democratic primary.
At the time, Garcia attacked Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and DCCC Chair Steve Israel, who reportedly made the overtures to Penelas. Israel was the one who initially recruited Garcia.
“At the very least, I was handled disrespectfully – maybe a little bit dishonestly,” Garcia told the Miami Herald at the time.
Garcia has struggled with fundraising, with many traditional donors are still uneasy about his support for independent Senate candidate and former Republican Charlie Crist over the Democratic candidate in the 2010 Senate race.
Last week, his campaign manager and a consultant left the campaign, leaving Garcia to run the show himself. Both left in the wake of Garcia’s fighting with the DCCC.