By Tim Canova — Candidate for Florida’s 23rd Congressional District

Tim Canova announcing his changing of party affiliation to independent outside the steps of the Broward County Supervisor of Elections office.

Yesterday, I announced that I am changing my party affiliation to NPA (Non-Party Affiliation) to run as an independent candidate against Debbie Wasserman Schultz in a November general election. I humbly ask for your help at this critical hour. It is time for all of us to put our country ahead of politics and our people ahead of party.

This was not an easy decision for me. I first registered Democrat at the age of 18. When I was out of college, I served for two years as a legislative aide on Capitol Hill for a Democrat, the late U.S. Senator Paul Tsongas. Throughout my life, I have worked hard for Democratic candidates who I believed in. In 2016, I ran as a Democrat against Wasserman Schultz. And I have worked hard to try to reform the Democratic Party from within, but the party left many of us a long time ago.

For the past two years, the Broward Democratic Party has openly supported Wasserman Schultz in violation of its own charter and promises. It regularly backs corporate funded incumbents who dodge debates against challengers like me. It actively works to prevent challengers like me from speaking at Democratic Party committee meetings, clubs and caucuses.

For months, I have been facing the intolerable prospect of running in another August closed Democratic primary administered by the same Democratic Broward Supervisor of Elections who is allied with Wasserman Schultz and who illegally destroyed all the paper ballots in our 2016 primary. To add insult to injury, the Florida Democratic Party and the Broward Democratic Party have been silent on this ballot destruction and have refused to call for an investigation.

By running as an independent, I will be on the ballot in November. Perhaps by then the Broward Supervisor of Elections will have been replaced.

More importantly, as an independent running in a general election, I will be able to court so many young voters who refuse to register Democratic and therefore cannot vote in a closed primary. Recent polls suggest that upwards of 70 percent of young voters are now independent. They are more progressive and woefully underrepresented in our political system. We aim to change that.

And by running as an independent, we will be engaging with a much wider population of voters, not just Democrats, but also independents, Republicans, Libertarians, Greens, and others.

Make no mistake, even though I’ll be running as an independent, I’m still the real Democrat in the race. I’m pushing a New Deal agenda of jobs for all, Medicare for all, election integrity and campaign finance reform, environmental protection, ending the drug war and mass incarceration, and converting to 100 percent renewable energy. On all these issues, we must take power back from the corporate interests that control our government in Washington, D.C.

On issue after issue, Wasserman Schultz is pushing the corporate agenda of her wealthy donors — from Wall Street banks and predatory payday lenders, to private prison companies, Big Pharma, and the fossil fuels industry.

In stark contrast, our campaign will not take a penny from any corporate interests. We rely entirely on small donations from ordinary folks of limited means like you and me. Please click here and contribute every last dollar you can afford (up to $2700). Last election, our average contribution size was $17, but those small donations add up when we have a grassroots peoples’ campaign catching fire.

Beyond financial contributions, there’s much else you can do to help our campaign. Please spread the word far and wide on social media and in your face to face interactions with friends and loved ones, and even with those you may not agree. We will need phone bankers from around the country and volunteers to come to South Florida and campaign with me door to door.

Unlike Wasserman Schultz, I will be campaigning vigorously for other progressive candidates around the state of Florida and beyond. Wasserman Schultz has come to represent all that’s wrong with the party and in our politics. While chair of the Democratic National Committee, she helped Democrats lose almost a thousand legislative seats nationwide and the party is now at its weakest level since 1920. Everyone knows she was an albatross around Hillary Clinton’s campaign and would drag down other Democrats in November. Running as an independent, I’m still the real progressive Democrat in our race, and I can and will do more to galvanize and excite voters across the political spectrum to help Democrats take back the House and Senate in the fall.

By taking on Wasserman Schultz two years ago, we made sure the political revolution ran through South Florida. With our decision to challenge the Democratic establishment in an open general election, South Florida is once again the epicenter of our political revolution.

At this critical hour, let us not forget what we are fighting for: to restore our democracy and Progress for All.

Thank you for all your support, and keep the faith!

Click here to sign up and join our people powered campaign to elect a true Progressive to Congress!

You may also donate by check or money order made out to “Tim Canova For Congress.” Here’s our address:

Tim Canova For Congress

P.O. Box 22–1868

Hollywood, FL 33022

Please note the FEC contribution rules listed below:

1. This contribution is made from my own funds, and funds are not being provided to me by another person or entity for the purpose of making this contribution.

2. I am making this contribution with my own funds and not with corporate or business funds.

3. I am not a federal contractor.

4. I am at least eighteen years old.

5. I am a U.S. citizen or lawfully admitted permanent resident (i.e., green card holder).

Please visit fec.gov for more information on these rules.

Thank you for your support!