Crist chooses Taddeo as running mate
By JIM SAUNDERS, DARA KAM AND MARGIE MENZEL
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist on Thursday named Miami-Dade County party leader Annette Taddeo as his running mate, a move that could help Crist in voter-rich South Florida while appealing to women and Hispanics.

Taddeo ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2008, losing to U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (in a district that included the Keys). Taddeo has had an elevated profile in state party politics since Democratic Chairwoman Allison Tant tapped her to serve as one of four vice-chairs last year.

The announcement was somewhat unorthodox because Crist still needs to defeat former state Senate Minority Leader Nan Rich in the Aug. 26 Democratic primary. But Crist has repeatedly said he is focused on the general election against Republican Gov. Rick Scott.

Crist touted Taddeo as a working mother who runs a small business in Miami. Taddeo, 47, who was born on a U.S. military base in Colombia, also has served as chairwoman of the Miami-Dade County Democratic Party.

At the Democrats’ annual fundraiser in Hollywood last month, Taddeo suggested that the party’s black and Hispanic caucuses needed to band together to be more effective. While black voters have traditionally been part of the Democratic base, Hispanics are a bloc that is growing in importance.

“Black issues are Hispanic issues. We’re both minorities. And both of us together, united, we will go so much further than divided,” Taddeo told The News Service of Florida at the June 28 fundraiser.

Taddeo, who has an 8-year-old daughter and whose husband has two children from a previous marriage, founded a company called LanguageSpeak in 1995. The company provides translation services.

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