Tim Canova says he's attracting voters from different parties

Political newcomer woos Republicans, independents in Democratic race

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. ā€“ Democratic congressional candidate Tim Canova isn't just trying to appeal to Democrats looking for a change in leadership. He's also seeking voters from outside the party.

Canova is the lone challenger of U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla. The longtime congresswoman has served as chair of the Democratic National Committee since 2011, but she is stepping aside after emails were recently leaked that suggest she tried to sway the presidential election in Hillary Clinton's favor.

That's not the only campaign the DNC was trying to manipulate, Canova said.

"The DNC was using its resources to monitor and strategize on how to respond to our campaign," Canova told Local 10 News.

Canova said that would be a violation of federal election law, and he could soon file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission.

The political newcomer is using the fallout from the DNC emails to attract new voters.

"We are engaging voters wherever they are," Canova said.

Canova is going after longtime Democrats, as well as independents and even Republicans.

"We have folks coming into our office every day, Republicans, who are asking if we can help them register Democrat," Canova said.

But time is running out.

The Broward County Supervisor of Elections said the last day to register for the Aug. 30 primary and change party affiliations is Aug. 1.

Voters in Broward County have recently been changing their party affiliations.

File: Broward County Party Changes Since April

According to Broward County Supervisor of Elections data, 839 voters have switched from Republican to Democrat since April 1, and more than 1,500 have switched from Democrat to Republican.

Overall, however, Democrats have had the most gain. The data shows that nearly 6,000 voters switched from different parties.

Local 10 contacted Wasserman Schultz about Canova's strategy to get Republicans to support him in the primary, but neither she nor a member of her staff replied.


About the Author:

In January 2017, Hatzel Vela became the first local television journalist in the country to move to Cuba and cover the island from the inside. During his time living and working in Cuba, heĀ covered some of the most significant stories in a post-Fidel Castro Cuba.Ā