Money Pours in as Attack Ads Fly in Florida's 26th District
*By Justin Chermol*
For Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Second-Amendment politics are deeply personal.
Mucarsel-Powell, an Ecuadorian-born U.S. citizen, is facing the two-term Republican incumbent, Congressman Carlos Curbelo, in Florida's 26th District. She lost her father to gun violence when she was just 24.
"I'm going to take action on day one and will not stop until we find solutions to protect our kids in this community," she told Cheddar's J.D. Durkin.
Just eight months ago, Florida ー and the country ー was rattled by a devastating high-school shooting that claimed 17 lives and spurred a wave of protests and a national conversation on gun reform.
As Election Day looms, many political spectators have fixed their gaze on Mucarsel-Powell's district, among the most contentious midterm races in the country. Florida's 26th district was among the few Republican-controlled districts won by Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race.
The most recent [poll](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/upshot/elections-poll-fl26-3.html) from The New York Times has Mucarsel-Powell up 1 percent over the Congressman, with a margin of sampling error of 4.9 percent.
Mucarsel-Powell is calling for a four-pronged approach to reducing gun violence: banning military-style weapons, preventing gun show loopholes, requiring universal background checks, and prohibiting those with a history of domestic violence, mental illness, or terrorism, from purchasing a gun.
In a separate interview on Cheddar, Rep. Curbelo said of his efforts on gun reform: "I have a record of working across the aisle to get things done." That includes breaking with some Republicans to support a bill that would allow the federal government to research gun violence.
As for the race ー just six days away ー attack ads have stirred the local drama.
A super PAC backing Rep. Curbelo released a provocative ad featuring a man holding a gun on screen, the kind of message Mucarsel-Powell said is an intimidation tactic.
"The attacks against me have been really shameful," she said. "I think that it's time for Congressman Curbelo to really think about what he's doing to instigate and incite this type of behavior in this community."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-race-for-floridas-26th-congressional-district).
The ongoing war in Ukraine and the Fed's hawkish stance toward reining in inflation might be causing a frenzy among investors. Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst at foreign exchange OANDA, joined Cheddar News to talk about the current "mixed bag" markets. "It's hard to read too much into it. These are just the market conditions we have right now," he said. "Ultimately we're a little directionless at times overall, but these intraday moves are causing a lot of volatility this week."
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 29, 2022, with President Biden asking Congress for a $33 billion aid package for Ukraine, a shrinking GDP potentially leading to a recession, Beijing banning weddings and funerals while closings schools amid COVID, and more.
Buying a new home is tough right now; but for first-time buyers, it's an especially challenging time, with obstacles like rising mortgage rates and record-breaking home prices. The housing market is not expected to get much friendlier, as mortgage rates are expected to continue to climb as the Federal Reserve proceeds with its plans for rate hikes in an effort to stifle inflation. Jonathan Miller, President and CEO of real estate appraiser Miller Samuel, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Tyler Moran, former senior adviser to President Biden on migration, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss the recent controversy around the administration's decision to end the use of Title 42, a public health order allowing the U.S. to expel migrants without going through the asylum process.
Christian Heyne, vice president of policy at the gun safety group Brady, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss President Biden's executive action on so-called "ghost guns," and to reflect on the Brooklyn subway shooting.
Jasmine Burney-Clark, founder of Equal Ground Education Fund and Action Fund, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss the redistricting process in Florida, and how the state's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed a map reducing the power of Black Floridians.
Ryan Thoreson, an LGBT rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss claims of grooming made by Republican politicians during efforts to pass so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bills.
Zachary Petrizzo, media reporter at The Daily Beast, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss former President Trump's endorsement of Dr. Oz in the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania, and why some parts of the MAGA base are unhappy about it.
Larry Sharpe, libertarian candidate for New York governor, joins Cheddar Politics to talk about the issues motivating his campaign. The discusses his endorsement from the progressive Forward party founded by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, and changes that can be made to voting systems.
