Former MLB All-Star Alex Rodriguez has gone to bat for Democratic U.S. Congressional candidate Donna Shalala ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Shalala is running in a tight congressional race in Florida’s 27th Congressional District against Republican Maria Elvira Salazar.
The 77-year-old Shalala left her position as the University of Miami’s president in 2015, and worked closely with Rodriguez during her time there.
A frequent donor, his name adorns the baseball stadium at the U.
“Hi, this is Alex Rodriguez asking you to support my friend Donna Shalala for Congress. Donna Shalala is a great Miamian who was president of the University of Miami for 14 years and led us to new heights. In addition to educating fellow Miamians, Donna also helped to create over 5,000 jobs with an annual economic impact of six billion for South Florida. “Her time at the U and her work as a U.S. secretary for health and human services, where she helped bring healthcare to nine million kids, make her the best candidate for district 27. Please support Donna Shalala for Congress.”
The message, first reported by CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski, could help push Shalala over the top.
"Hi this is Alex Rodriguez, asking you to support my friend Donna Shalala," @AROD says in the call.https://t.co/JZ9niEJXjB
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) November 3, 2018
Shalala and Salazar are facing off to replace retiring Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R).
The district’s borders were redrawn due to a court order three years ago, concentrating it in parts of urban Miami and its sprawling suburbs, areas that are typically favorable to Democrats. Rodriguez lived in Miami for several years as a child.
However, Salazar’s decades working for Spanish-language Telemundo, scoring interviews with Latin American leaders like former Cuban President Fidel Castro and former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, helped ingratiate her with the district’s Hispanic population.
Ros-Lehtinen, a Cuban émigré who won reelection in 2016 by 10 points despite Trump’s loss in her district, has endorsed Salazar as her successor.
Shalala also had to endure a bruising primary to win the nomination, which she did by fewer than five points. Salazar did not face a competitive primary opponent.
The race is one of the nation’s tightest, with The Cook Political Report initially rating it as “lean Democratic” before changing it to “toss up” and then back to “lean Democratic.”
Democrats are hoping to flip the seat as part of a blue wave on Tuesday.