Congressional District 21 election: Corinna Balderramos Robinson challenges Rep. Brian Mast
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Corinna Balderramos Robinson faces a fundraising juggernaut in her bid to become the Treasure Coast's next representative in Congress. But despite being outspent by her opponent by nearly 118 times, she said she has faith she can win the Nov. 8 election.
"It's grassroots work," the retired Army major told TCPalm in early September. "It's knocking on doors. It's making phone calls. And it's talking to the voters."
She had spent $33,100 of the $45,500 she had collected for her campaign as of Aug. 3, according to the finance latest reports. That pales in comparison to three-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, who had spent about $3.9 million of his $5.5 million.
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Still, she said she's not intimidated by the cash disparity. She criticized Mast for being largely funded by outside sources, not the people he represents in U.S. House District 21, covering Martin, St. Lucie and parts of Palm Beach counties.
"You can clearly see where his money is coming from," she said. "It's not the small donations from the individuals that live in our district. It's from major (political committees) not necessarily in the state of Florida."
Mast's campaign disagreed with the claim, pointing out that the majority of donations to his re-election are under $200, according to Mast spokesperson Brad Stewart in an email to TCPalm. Mast raised over $3 million from donations under that amount, the latest finance records show.
Balderramos Robinson also criticized Mast for putting the Republican party before the people.
"I am not going to be wedded to a partisan belief unless it's in the best interest of my constituents," the Democrat said. "That's the largest difference between congressman Mast and myself."
Balderramos Robinson
This is not the first time Balderramos Robinson has run for office. She lost a 2014 congressional race in her native South Dakota and a 2020 Senate race in Florida.
Though she was defeated by Sen. Gayle Harrell for the District 25 seat, she won 46% of the vote in St. Lucie County, 40% in Palm Beach and 32.5% in Martin. Having less money, name recognition and legislative experience could have been factors.
Harrell, 77, is a longtime Stuart resident and Florida House member for 16 years. Her late husband, Dr. James Harrell, was a well-known OB-GYN in Stuart since 1971. Harrell outspent Balderramos Robinson by nearly 25 times.
"I was not intimidated by campaigning against one of the most well-funded state senators in Florida," Balderramos Robinson said.
In the upcoming election, she was endorsed by Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, the Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida and the Florida AFL-CIO.
"I come from a family of laborers and it means a lot to me that they've endorsed this campaign," she said of the AFL-CIO. "I will continue to help push their agenda."
Roe v. Wade, abortion access, women's rights
One issue in the race is access to abortion.
The U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade in July is expected to mobilize voters. Balderramos Robinson cited Kansas as an example. There, voters in August rejected an effort to remove abortion protections from the state's constitution.
She vowed to fight for federal laws to protect women's right to choose, including access to contraception, according to her campaign website.
Thousands of women on the Treasure Coast have had an abortion in the past several years.
“I will do everything I can to make sure that (constituents) are given a representative that will speak to their individual freedoms," she said. "I don't think that congressman Mast understands the depth of that decision by a woman."
Days after the Supreme Court decision, Mast affirmed his pro-life stance.
"If working to protect that separate life costs me votes, then it costs me votes," he told TCPalm at the time. "But it's not going to cost me my conscience."
Lake O discharges, water pollution issues
Both candidates agree the toxic algal blooms discharged into the St. Lucie River from Lake Okeechobee must be monitored and mitigated. Balderramos Robinson also wants to increase fines for polluters, "especially those which are agriculturally based."
She also criticized Mast’s “no” vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to combat climate change nationwide.
“He can't claim that he's continuing to take care of our environment and vote no against the bill that we need to make sure that we're protecting our environment," she said.
Mast, an advocate for zero Lake O discharges to the St. Lucie River, said he wants to improve partnerships between state and federal leaders to fix Florida's pollution crisis.
"The federal government can and should be a partner to supplement state efforts preventing pollution and holding polluters accountable," Mast wrote on his campaign website. "That’s why I’ve helped introduce and pass legislation to increase funding for (Environmental Protection Agency) grant programs that support these efforts."
Mast has introduced several Indian River Lagoon and St. Lucie River projects, including the most recent Northern Estuaries Restoration Plan Act (NERP) that would require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build more infrastructure to stop Lake O discharges.
But Mast also votes regularly along GOP party lines on national initiatives, often in opposition to environmentally friendly bills. Because of this, the League of Conservation Voters gave Mast a 17% on its National Environmental Scorecard for 2021.
Mast played a key role in securing $1 trillion for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and the Herbert Hoover Dike rehabilitation, according to Stewart.
Army veterans
Both candidates are Army veterans.
Balderramos Robinson, 57, who lives in Port St. Lucie, joined the Army at age 17, did two combat tours in Iraq, and retired as a major after 25 years. With a doctorate in homeland security management, she has been a Department of Defense national security contractor and Georgetown University adjunct professor.
Mast, 42, who lives in Fort Pierce, joined after graduating high school in 1999. He served for over 12 years and lost both legs while working as a bomb technician in Afghanistan.
Gun safety reform is an issue for Balderramos Robinson, who said "mass casualty weapons should be reserved only for those serving in uniform." Mast supports a ban future sales of assault rifles, he wrote in a 2018 New York Times op-ed.
Balderramos Robinson also wants to expand access to healthcare and mental health resources in schools, according to her campaign website.
"We cannot run a country where GoFundMe is the solution and expect to succeed as a nation," she wrote.
Mast won Aug. 23 GOP primary
District 21, which was redrawn this year, is rated "Solid Republican," according to Cook Political Report and Inside Elections.
Mast handily defeated his three GOP challengers in the Aug. 23 primary. Nearly 8 in 10 voters cast their ballots for him, according to a TCPalm analysis of election results. Of the 72,424 ballots cast in the race, over 56,500 — or roughly 78% — were for Mast.
The winner of the Nov. 8 general election will be sworn in Jan. 3 for a two-year term that pays $174,000.
Max Chesnes is a TCPalm environment reporter focusing on issues facing the Indian River Lagoon, St. Lucie River and Lake Okeechobee. You can keep up with Max on Twitter @MaxChesnes, email him at max.chesnes@tcpalm.com and give him a call at 772-978-2224.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Brian Mast vs. Corinna Balderramos Robinson for congressional District 21
