Democratic candidate for governor Charlie Crist is expected to pick as his running mate Karla Hernandez-Mats, the president of the Miami-Dade teachers union, according to CBS Miami. A source close to the process also confirmed the choice to the Orlando Sentinel.
Crist, who defeated state Agriculture Secretary Nikki Fried on Tuesday to win his party’s nomination for governor, is expected to announce his choice at an event in Hialeah on Saturday.
Hernandez-Mats, a Honduran American, was first elected to lead the United Teachers of Dade in 2016, the largest teachers union in the state and the Southeast with about 30,000 members.
She also serves as a vice president of the American Federation of Teachers, the second-largest teachers union in the country. She does not have any previous political experience as a candidate.
“At least right off the bat, it seems like a solid pick … though a little bit risky,” said Aubrey Jewett, a professor of political science at the University of Central Florida. “Democrats are certainly going to push education as an issue and highlight some of the policies DeSantis has adopted that they think are extreme towards education.”
Hernandez-Mats’ expected selection comes as public schools have become a political lightning rod over the last few years.
Teachers unions and school boards clashed with Gov. Ron DeSantis over school closures and mask mandates amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Two of the most controversial laws signed by DeSantis, the “Stop WOKE Act” and the so-called “don’t say gay” bill, have targeted public school teachers by telling them what they can and cannot teach about racial issues and sexual identification.
DeSantis also has been inserting himself into local, non-partisan school board elections, promoting conservative candidates across the state. He’s backed military veterans in the classrooms to combat a teacher shortage, adding this month he wants retired police and firefighters to teach as well without traditional education degrees.
“Republicans feel that education is a winning issue for them,” Jewett said. “… [But] Crist and the Democrats need to challenge them and they need to try to switch that narrative that DeSantis has woven. They can push a message that a lot of the policies that he’s pushed haven’t been great for public schools. If you’re a very conservative, religious parent maybe it’s good for you, but maybe that doesn’t represent the majority of Floridians.”
DeSantis’ running mate, Lt. Gov. Jeanette Núñez, also is from Miami.
Complete election coverage can be found at OrlandoSentinel.com/election.
