Crist scores hat trick with Taddeo-Goldstein

She’s a Colombian. She’s from South Florida. She’s a woman.

In hockey they’d call it a hat trick.

We might want to add a fourth, she’s Jewish by marriage – an important factor in Miami-Dade and Broward counties where a large number of Jews are democrats.

Annette Taddeo-Goldstein was tapped by Charlie Crist to be his running mate come November. Of course Crist first must win the Democratic Party primary in late August. Although all indications point to a Crist against incumbent Rick Scott race in the fall.

It was a smart move by Crist and his people. With Taddeo-Goldstein he offsets the other Latino in the race, Scott lieutenant governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera. Interestingly, Lopez-Cantera is the son of Cuban American parents. Taddeo-Goldstein is also Hispanic, but not Cuban.

I say interesting because with this choice Crist gives less importance to republican Cubans who would never have voted for him. He can probably expect the Cuban democrats and those not affiliated to a party to vote for him. And with Taddeo-Goldstein he reaches out to the rapidly growing number of other Latino voters in the state.

Not only will this help him in the Miami area, but also in Broward County, with the largest group of voting democrats in Florida and also a rapidly growing Latino electorate. And as I have written in the past, Crist’s choice will also be a winner with Hispanics along the state’s I-4 Corridor.

There are a couple of more pluses to report on the choice. First, Crist who just recently became a Democrat, after serving as governor four years ago as a Republican, picked a woman who happens to be the head of Miami-Dade’s Democratic Party. That will help Crist with those who question his party credentials. And as a woman, Taddeo-Goldstein will connect with a majority of voters in Florida, who are women and who vote more consistently than men.

Finally, there are two sure things come 2015. One, the state’s next lieutenant governor will be a Hispanic. And two, Florida’s next lieutenant governor will carry a hyphenated last name.