Former Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez announced Tuesday he will challenge longtime GOP Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), setting up a titanic battle in Miami-Dade County likely to focus on U.S. foreign policy toward Cuba.

The long-rumored candidacy of Martinez means Miami-Dade County will see a race between two Cuban émigrés and well-known, colorful politicians. Eight television stations covered Martinez’s announcement Tuesday morning, according to one source who attended the press conference.

Florida Republicans immediately attacked Martinez, a Democrat, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). In a release, they predicted a contentious race, “considering Raul Martinez has a history of corruption and indecency.”
Martinez was convicted in 1991 on federal extortion charges. He appealed, and two subsequent trials ended in hung juries.

“This is the ultimate in hypocrisy,” Florida GOP Chairman Jim Greer said in a statement that said Martinez’s run goes against Pelosi’s pledge to end the culture of corruption in Washington. Greer charged Martinez with having a record of “corruption, crude behavior and offensive rhetoric.”

In September, Martinez called Greer a vulgar term for a female body part after Greer criticized Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) for attending a Florida fundraiser hosted by Martinez.

In a speech Tuesday announcing his candidacy, Martinez criticized Diaz-Balart for being a follower and not a leader. He said the district needed a representative who would question the Iraq war, and also took aim at Diaz-Balart for voting against an expansion of a children’s health insurance program.

Florida Democrats have been looking for strong candidates to challenge Diaz-Balart and his brother, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.). Both brothers have usually not drawn tough opponents, but in Martinez, Democrats believe they have a candidate who can knock off Lincoln Diaz-Balart, who is now in his eighth term and has consistently taken a hard line against the Castro government in Cuba.

Martinez served as mayor of Hialeah, the fifth-largest city in Florida, for 25 years. Hialeah is 90 percent Hispanic and includes a huge Cuban population.

Martinez said he supports the embargo, but said rules restricting travel and remittances by Miami-Cubans to the island should be eased. Diaz-Balart generally has argued such restrictions strengthen the embargo and weaken the Castro regime. Much of the race is likely to focus on the Cuban embargo and whether visitation policies to the island should be changed.

In a shot at Diaz-Balart’s floor speeches about Cuba, Martinez said the district needs fewer “fiery speeches” in Washington and “more people who have a record of getting things done.”