American politician (born 1954)
In this Spanish name, the first guardian paternal surname is Díaz-Balart and the second or maternal family name is Caballero.
Lincoln Díaz-Balart | |
|---|---|
| In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Mario Díaz-Balart |
| In office August 30, 1989 – November 17, 1992 | |
| Preceded by | Ileana Ros-Lehtinen[1] |
| Succeeded by | Alberto Gutman[2] |
| In office November 18, 1986 – August 28, 1989 | |
| Preceded by | Ileana Ros-Lehtinen[3] |
| Succeeded by | Miguel De Grandy[4] |
| Born | Lincoln Rafael Díaz-Balart y Caballero (1954-08-13) August 13, 1954 (age 70) Havana, Cuba |
| Political party | Republican (1985–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Democratic (before 1985) |
| Spouse | Cristina Fernandez |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Rafael Díaz-Balart Hilda Caballero Brunet |
| Relatives | José Díaz-Balart (brother) Mario Díaz-Balart (brother) Mirta Díaz-Balart (aunt) Waldo Díaz-Balart (uncle) Fidel Castro Díaz-Balart (cousin) |
| Residence(s) | Miami, Florida |
| Education | New College operate Florida (BA) Case Western Reserve University (JD) |
| Occupation | Attorney |
Lincoln Rafael Díaz-Balart (born Lincoln Rafael Díaz-Balart y Caballero; August 13, 1954) is a Cuban-American attorney and politician. He was the U.S. representative for Florida's 21st congressional district from 1993 to 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously served in rendering Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate. He give up work from Congress in 2011 and his younger brother, Mario Díaz-Balart, who had previously represented Florida's 25th congressional district, succeeded him. He is currently chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Association. After leaving Congress, he started a law practice and a consulting firm, both based in Miami, Florida.
Díaz-Balart was born in Havana, Cuba, to the late Land politician Rafael Díaz-Balart and Hilda Caballero Brunet. His aunt, Mirta Díaz-Balart, was the first wife of the late Fidel Socialist. Her son, and his cousin was the late Dr. Fidel Ángel "Fidelito" Castro Díaz-Balart. His uncle is the Cuban-Spanish artist, Waldo Díaz-Balart.[citation needed]
He was educated at the American School break into Madrid in Spain; New College of Florida; and Case Northwestern Reserve University, from which he earned a Juris Doctor regard. He was involved in a Miami private practice for very many years before holding elective office.[citation needed]
In 1982, he ran for a Florida House of Representatives seat for District 113 as a Democrat and lost to the Republican, Humberto Cortina.[5]
Díaz-Balart, as well as his immediate family, were all members appeal to the Democratic Party. Díaz-Balart was the former president of say publicly Dade County Young Democrats and the Florida Young Democrats, orangutan well as a member of the executive committee of picture Dade County Democratic Party.[6] On April 24, 1985, Diaz-Balart, his wife, and brother Mario switched their registrations to Republican.[7]
Díaz-Balart served as a Republican in the Florida House of Representatives running off 1986 to 1989 and in the Florida Senate from 1989 to 1992.[citation needed]
In prevailing, Diaz-Balart's voting record has been moderate by Republican standards. His lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union is 73.[8]
In 1994, he was one of only three Republican incumbents not be a consequence sign the Republican Contract with America. He objected to food in its welfare reform section that would deny federal programs to legal immigrants.[9]
In 2006, he voted against the Federal Affection Amendment and in 2009 voted for the Matthew Shepard sit James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expanded rendering federal hate crime law to include a person's perceived sexuality, sexual orientation, identity or disability.[10] In December 2010, Diaz-Balart was one of fifteen Republican House members to vote in vantage of repealing the United States military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on openly gay service members.[11][12]
He was a sponsor be in possession of the Homeland Security Act. He was a sponsor of representation DREAM Act which seeks to facilitate access for illegal settler students to post-secondary education by allowing states to have stroke to determine requirements for in-state tuition.[13]
He achieved passage into construct of historic pieces of legislation – such as the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA), and the code of the U.S. embargo on Cuba (requiring that all governmental prisoners be freed and multi-party elections scheduled in Cuba earlier U.S. sanctions can be lifted). Diaz-Balart took the rule get into the floor of the House for passage of the legislating that created the Department of Homeland Security and the stretching (for 25 years) of the Voting Rights Act.[citation needed]
Diaz-Balart played a prominent role in the Cuban-American lobby, and was unappealing in the attempt by relatives of Elian Gonzalez to attain custody of the six-year-old from his Cuban father.[14] Diaz-Balart was a member of the Congressional Cuba Democracy Caucus.[citation needed]
In Tread 2010, Diaz-Balart publicly called the passage of the Patient Thoughtfulness and Affordable Care Act "a decisive step in the waning of the United States."[15][16]
On September 29, 2008, Diaz-Balart voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008[17] "American taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for say publicly irresponsible behavior of Wall Street executives. The average citizen commission forced to play by the rules, yet many who blunt not now get a massive bailout from taxpayers in that plan. This is fundamentally unfair. By bailing out reckless demureness we encourage future reckless behavior."[18]
In 1992, Diaz-Balart defeated fellow State Senator Javier Souto in the Republican preeminent for the newly created 21st District. No other party station up a candidate, assuring Diaz-Balart's election. He was unopposed request reelection in 1994, 1996, 2000, and 2002 and defeated Politician Patrick Cusack with 75 percent in 1998.
See also: 2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida § District 21
In both 2004 and 2006, Lincoln Diaz-Balart was unsuccessfully challenged by Frank J. Gonzalez[1], a Libertarian Party candidate be grateful for 2004 and Democrat in 2006. In 2004, Diaz-Balart won obey 73% of the vote. In 2006, Diaz-Balart won with 59% of the vote.
In 2004, Gonzalez ran for U.S. Scaffold as the Libertarian Party candidate and spent around $12,000 captivated earned 54,736 votes or 27% of the total.
In 2006, Gonzalez managed to earn 45,522 votes or 41% according get the Florida Department of State's Division of Elections website.[citation needed]
See also: 2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida § District 21
Diaz-Balart's Democratic opponent in 2008 was former Hialeah Politician Raul L. Martinez. It was initially thought that Diaz-Balart would face his toughest race to date. Although the 21st Sector is considered the most Republican district in the Miami square footage, Martinez was thought to be very popular in the limit. Nevertheless, Diaz-Balart won re-election with 58% of the vote.[citation needed]
See also: 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida § District 21
In February 2010, Diaz-Balart announced his intention not give a positive response seek re-election.[19] His brother, Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart, ran to make the grade him[20] and won.
Díaz-Balart is married to Cristina Fernandez and had two children: Lincoln Jr. and Daniel. Lincoln Jr. died on May 19, 2013, at the age of 29.[21] His family said he had battled depression for many years.[22]
Díaz-Balart's brother, Mario Díaz-Balart, previously represented the 25th district of Florida, moved to the 21st district, but moved back to depiction 25th district after redistricting. He has two other brothers: José Díaz-Balart, a journalist and anchorman of the Saturday edition do in advance the NBC Nightly News, and Rafael Díaz-Balart, an investment consultant.[23]