Miami, Fla. – The fallout over Florida Agriculture Commissioner candidate Naomi Blemur’s homophobic remarks and calling abortion a sin on social media several years ago continues as the Florida Democratic Party left her out of the organization’s efforts to boost their candidates during the midterm elections.
Democrats want to prevent the Republican Party from flipping the seat, but the organization made a critical decision not to financially boost the campaign of Blemur, who’s facing Republican and current Senate President Wilton Simpson in November.
The candidates are seeking to replace Nikki Fried, who ran for governor but lost to U.S. Congressman Charlie Crist in the Democratic primary.
The Democratic Party is boosting the campaigns of Crist, who’s facing incumbent Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis; U.S. Congresswoman and Senate candidate Val Demings against incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio; attorney general candidate Aramis Ayela against incumbent Republican Ashley Moody; and congressional candidate and State Sen. Annette Taddeo in her race with incumbent Maria Elvira Salazar.
Blemur, a Miami native who lives in North Miami, was not part of the party’s Blue Shift Florida program, and was left fending financially for herself.
After she came under fire before the Democratic Primary in August, much of her campaign contributions stopped and she was left with $1,000 as of September.
Blemur, who is of Haitian descent, defeated cannabis activist Ryan Morales, and former congressional candidate, legislative director and fellow Haitian J.R. Gaillot in the Democratic primary by capturing 50 percent of the vote.
Following her victory, Blemur said she made a bold move to seek political office in the Florida Cabinet as the first Haitian-American woman to hold the position.
"Running as a woman, a woman of color, a woman of Haitian descent, was not easy, nevertheless, by God’s grace, we won," she said.
"This race yielded close to 700,000 votes, with over 50% of the electorate voting for me. My team and I won 63 out of 67 counties in a very difficult primary and made history. I became the first woman of color to run for the seat and become the Democratic nominee in the history of Florida. But it’s not over yet, we have round two and I am asking you to believe in me, to believe with us."
Blemur, a member of the Miami Dade Democratic Party Committee, was the frontrunner when former Republican Congressional candidate Adam Chirstenson, a staunch supporter of Simpson, posted screenshots of Blemur’s posts on her personal social media page.
One screenshot from 2020 shows Blemur criticizing Georgia U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock for calling abortion consistent with the Bible. Warnock is a pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Martin Luther King Jr. was co-pastor from 1960 to his assassination in 1968.
“Wow…this pastor has certainly taken a leap, and there is NO scripture to back it up,” Blemur wrote in the post, which came ahead of Warnock’s special election victory. The post included three religious verses that are frequently used in anti-abortion messaging.
Blemur also commented about abortion, according to another screenshot:
“Abortion is a SIN. Just like any other sin, it will never be consistent with Christianity. Period. Christ came and died, to bore our sins. Through him, we can repent and seek forgiveness and restoration.
In another screenshot, Blemur is supporting Kim Burrell after the singer was removed from a gospel music event following a sermon in which she referred to the “perverted homosexual spirit.”
After Blemur’s social media posts came to light, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levin Cava, Taddeo and State Sen. Shervin Jones, who’s openly gay, denounced her comments and said they can no longer support her bid to replace Fried. In a tweet in August, Jones said his endorsement for Blemur came before her social media comments resurfaced.
“As a strong voice for reproductive freedom and LGBTQ+ rights, I found Blemur’s past comments unsettling as they’ve come to light," Jones tweeted. "These comments run counter to my record of protecting and advancing the rights of Floridians, and I’ve retracted said support from her campaign."
Blemur responded on social media on losing the endorsements from her fellow Democrats leaders.
"The statement that is circulating does not speak to my values as a leader or how I will lead as the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. I will serve and fight for everyone’s rights no matter their gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or race," she said.
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