Richard Mendelson, a former teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, said Thursday he’s the candidate who can achieve the victory that South Florida Republicans dream about: ousting U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
“When people think of what’s wrong with government, nationwide many people think of Debbie Wasserman Schultz,” he said in a telephone interview. “We have a representative who has unfortunately demonstrated poor leadership and poor decision making. … It seems she has forgotten that her job is to be a representative of the people.”
Despite Mendelson’s declaration, history and numbers make Wasserman Schultz the favorite for re-election in the overwhelmingly Democratic 23rd Congressional District in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
But Mendelson, who isn’t a stranger to a tough political race, said he will defy the odds and the district’s history in 2020.
Challenger
Mendelson ran against Broward School Board member Laurie Rich Levinson in the August 2018 nonpartisan election, receiving 44 percent of the vote, after he and his supporters ran an aggressive contest to unseat the incumbent.
He said a major motivation for his political involvement is the Feb. 14, 2018, massacre at Stoneman Douglas. Mendelson graduated from the school, and used to teach social studies and coach wrestling there.