Diaz-Balart brothers back Crist over Rubio

Reps. Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) announced Monday that they have endorsed Florida Gov. Charlie Crist in the GOP primary for Florida’s open Senate seat.

The endorsements of the Diaz-Balart brothers are important because they could bite into Crist opponent Marco Rubio’s natural constituency – Cuban-Americans in Miami. Rubio, like the Diaz-Balarts, is Cuban-American.

“With his commitment to a strong national defense, a world-class education system, and ensuring that all Floridians have access to health care, it is clear that Charlie Crist will be a strong advocate for Florida in Washington D.C.” Mario Diaz-Balart said. “He is exactly the leader that we need and I look forward to supporting and campaigning with him.”

The Diaz-Balarts are important figures, but they also backed Caucasian Bill McCollum over Cuban-American Mel Martinez in the 2004 Senate primary, and Martinez still won Miami-Dade County with 80 percent of the vote. That despite the fact that Martinez was from the Orlando area.

Conspicuously absent from the endorsements, though, is Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.). She is the third Republican Cuban-American in the area and wields significant influence with that voter group.

Complicating matters on that front is the fact that her husband, former U.S. attorney Dexter Lehtinen, was on the leadership committee for a late-June Rubio fundraiser.

It will be interesting to see what, if anything, Rep. Ros-Lehtinen does.

Rubio recently earned the backing of Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.).