Mario Diaz-Balart
| Mario Diaz-Balart | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 7, 2003 |
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| Preceded by | None (District Created After 2000 Census) |
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| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
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| Born | September 25 1961 Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Tia Diaz-Balart |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Mario Rafael Diaz-Balart (born September 25 1961) is an American politician. Since 2003 he has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Florida's 25th congressional district (map). The district includes large portions of western Miami-Dade County and most of Collier County.
He was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and attended the University of South Florida to study political science before beginning his public service career as an aide to then-Miami Mayor Xavier Suarez in 1985. He was elected to the Florida House in 1988, moved to the Florida Senate in 1992 and back to the House in 2000. During his second tenure in the House, he chaired the redistricting committee; it was an open secret that he drew the newly created 25th for himself. The same committee helped draw Florida's other newly created district, the 24th, for state House Speaker Tom Feeney and also reconfigured the 5th for State Senate President Pro Tem Ginny Brown-Waite.
He is the younger brother of Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart and the son of exiled Cuban politician Rafael Diaz-Balart, and a former nephew by marriage of Fidel Castro. He currently lives in Miami with his wife and son.
Unlike the other two Cuban-Americans who represent Miami in Congress — Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and his older brother — Mario Diaz-Balart has a strongly conservative voting record. He is the only voting Latino member of Congress who is a member of the conservative Republican Study Committee. His district, however, is known to be more Republican and socially conservative than the other two.
Like his two Cuban-American colleagues, Diaz-Balart is a strong advocate of maintaining the Cuban embargo, saying "Some people do not understand the embargo of Cuba. Its purpose is to keep American hard currency out of the hands of a Communist thug by restricting most trade and travel."[1]
External links
- U.S. Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart — official House site
- Mario Diaz-Balart at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Federal Election Commission — Mario Diaz-Balart campaign finance reports and data
- On the Issues — Mario Diaz-Balart issue positions and quotes
- OpenSecrets.org — Mario Diaz-Balart campaign contributions
- Project Vote Smart — Representative Mario Diaz-Balart (FL) profile
- SourceWatch Congresspedia — Mario Diaz Balart profile
- Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Mario Diaz-Balart voting record
| Preceded by District Created |
Representative
of the 25th Congressional District of Florida 2003–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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