David Rivera (Florida)
David Rivera (Republican Party) was a member of theU.S. House, representingFlorida's 25th Congressional District.
Rivera (Republican Party) ran for election to theFlorida House of Representatives to representDistrict 119. Rivera was disqualified from the Republican primary scheduled onAugust 23, 2022.
Rivera was a2016Republican candidate forDistrict 118 of theFlorida House of Representatives.
Rivera was aRepublican candidate for theUnited States House of Representatives in the2014 elections. He ran in the26th Congressional District of Florida.[1] On July 11, 2014, just over two months after launching a campaign for his old seat, Rivera suspended his campaign.[2] A month after announcing he suspended his campaign, Rivera announced on August 11, 2014, that he would continue his campaign for the Republican primary.[3] He lost in the primary election.
Rivera was aRepublican member of theU.S. House of Representatives. Rivera was elected by voters fromFlorida's 25th Congressional District. He served from 2011-2013.
Due to redistricting, Rivera ran in the2012 election for theU.S. House to representFlorida's26th District. He won the nomination on the Republican ticket.[4] Rivera ran unopposed in theRepublican primary on August 14, 2012.[5] He was defeated on November 6, 2012, byJoe Garcia.[6]
Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship byGovTrack, Rivera was a "centrist Republican follower."[7]
Biography
Rivera was born in New York City on September 16, 1965, and moved toFlorida in 1974.[8] He graduated from Miami Christian High School. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in political science fromFlorida International University in 1986 and his MPA in 1994.[9]
Careers
- 2003-2011:Florida House of Representatives, 112th District[8]
- 2011-2013:U.S. House,Florida's 25th Congressional District[8]
Committee assignments
U.S. House
2011-2012
Rivera served on the following committees:[10]
- United States House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
- Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
- United States House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources[10]
- Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
- Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands
Florida House of Representatives
2009-2010
- Full Appropriations Council on Education & Economic Development (Chair)
- Full Appropriations Council on General Government & Healthcare (Chair)
- Legislative Budget Commission Committee, Florida State Legislature (Alternating Chair)
- Rules & Calendar Council
Issues
Sponsored legislation
Florida House of Representatives
Rivera's sponsored legislation included:
- HB 1485 - "Secondhand Dealers: Provides that certain businesses that purchase precious metals are exempt from provisions of law regulating secondhand dealers under certain circumstances."
- HB 1489 - "Workers' Compensation: Decriminalizes receipt of attorney's fee that has not been approved by judge of compensation claims; limits scope of judge of compensation claims' authority to approve settlement agreements; revises provisions relating to attorney's fees"
- HB 1491 - "Pari-Mutuel Permitholders: Provides that no new pari-mutuel permits shall be issued after certain date; removes provisions for application to Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering for permit to conduct quarter horse race meetings"
For details and a full listing of sponsored bills, see theHouse site.
Presidential preference
2012
David Rivera (Florida) endorsedNewt Gingrich in the 2012 presidential election.[11]
Specific votes
Fiscal Cliff
Rivera voted against the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was 1 of 151 Republicans that voted against the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257 - 167 vote on January 1, 2013.[12]
Noteworthy events
Investigation of campaign finance violations
During the primary stage of the 2012 election season that ended in Rivera's defeat byDemocratJoe Garcia,The Miami Herald andEl Nuevo Herald identified discrepancies in the campaign finance reports of Garcia's primary opponent,Justin Lamar Sternad.[13] Beginning in Aug. 2012, the newspapers' coverage of Sternad's alleged campaign funding crimes also brought Rivera, who reportedly helped finance anti-Garcia mailers, among other expensive maneuvers executed by the Sternad campaign, to the attention of federal law enforcement authorities. Subsequent investigations by the FBI and theFederal Election Commission resulted in Sternad's indictment on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and concealing the source of unreported campaign funds.[14] Sternad surrendered to federal authorities on February 22, 2013, following a FBI and grand jury investigation which explored Rivera's involvement in the scheme. However it did not produce any charges against Rivera, who denied links to any illegal activity and whose name did not appear in Sternad's indictment. According toThe Miami Herald, this was due to the missing testimony of Rivera's close friend as well as Sternad's campaign manager, Ana Alliegro. Alliegro went underground after failing to show up to her meeting with the FBI in Sept. 2012 in which she would have been required to explain eyewitness accounts alleging she funneled the cash from Rivera to Sternad's campaign.[14][15]
Club dues
In July 2013, it was reported that Rivera had used $400 in campaign money to pay for his Capitol Hill Club membership, an exclusive, Republican club. If true, it could have been a violation ofFederal Election Commission (FEC) rules that prohibit campaign contributions from being used for club memberships. According to the FEC, Rivera's campaign was still in debt from the 2012 election.[16][17]
Elections
2022
See also: Florida House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Florida House of Representatives District 119
Juan Carlos Porras defeatedGabriel Gonzalez in the general election for Florida House of Representatives District 119 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Juan Carlos Porras (R) | 64.4 | 35,574 |
 | Gabriel Gonzalez (D) | 35.6 | 19,700 | |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 55,274 | ||
 = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 119
Gabriel Gonzalez defeatedJames Cueva in the Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 119 on August 23, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Gabriel Gonzalez | 55.8 | 3,095 |
 | James Cueva | 44.2 | 2,449 | |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 5,544 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 119
Juan Carlos Porras defeatedRob Gonzalez,Ashley Alvarez,Ricky Tsay, andJose Soto in the Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 119 on August 23, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Juan Carlos Porras | 48.2 | 4,660 |
| Rob Gonzalez | 20.3 | 1,959 | ||
| Ashley Alvarez | 15.1 | 1,461 | ||
| Ricky Tsay | 12.8 | 1,233 | ||
| Jose Soto | 3.7 | 353 | ||
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 9,666 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- David Rivera (R)
2016
Elections for theFlorida House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 30, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 24, 2016.
Robert Asencio defeatedDavid Rivera in the Florida House of Representatives District 118 general election.[18][19]
| Florida House of Representatives, District 118 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Robert Asencio | 50.04% | 31,412 | |
| Republican | David Rivera | 49.96% | 31,359 | |
| Total Votes | 62,771 | |||
| Source:Florida Division of Elections | ||||
Robert Asencio ran unopposed in the Florida House of Representatives District 118 Democratic primary.[20][21]
| Florida House of Representatives, District 118 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Robert Asencio (unopposed) | |
David Rivera defeatedLynda Bell,Carlos Pria,Anthony Rodriguez andSteven Rojas Tallon defeated in the Florida House of Representatives District 118 Republican primary.[20][21]
| Florida House of Representatives, District 118 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | David Rivera | 36.03% | 3,198 | |
| Republican | Lynda Bell | 21.18% | 1,880 | |
| Republican | Carlos Pria | 3.83% | 340 | |
| Republican | Anthony Rodriguez | 34.03% | 3,020 | |
| Republican | Steven Rojas Tallon | 4.92% | 437 | |
| Total Votes | 8,875 | |||
2014
Florida's 26th Congressional District was abattleground district in 2014. IncumbentJoe Garcia faced no challenger in theDemocratic primary. In theRepublican primary,Carlos Curbelo defeatedEd MacDougall,Joe Martinez,Lorenzo Palomares Starbuck and former U.S. Rep.David Rivera. Curbelo then beat incumbent Garcia in the general election on November 4, 2014.[22][23]
On July 11, 2014, just over two months after launching a campaign for his old seat, Rivera suspended his campaign.[2] A month after announcing he suspended his campaign, Rivera announced on August 11, 2014, that he would continue his campaign for the Republican primary.[3] Rivera lost in the primary.
2012
Rivera was defeated byJoe Garcia (D) in the general election onNovember 6, 2012.[24]
Due to redistricting, Rivera ran in the2012 election for theU.S. House to representFlorida's26th District.[25] Rivera ran unopposed in theRepublican primary on August 14, 2012.[5] Rivera was considered a vulnerable incumbent in the 2012 general election.[26] He was defeated on November 6, 2012, byJoe Garcia.[27]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Garcia | 53.6% | 135,694 | |
| Republican | David RiveraIncumbent | 43% | 108,820 | |
| Independent | Angel Fernandez | 2.3% | 5,726 | |
| Independent | Jose Peixoto | 1.1% | 2,717 | |
| Total Votes | 252,957 | |||
| Source:Florida Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
David Rivera did not completeBallotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2012
Rivera's campaign website listed the following issues:[28]
- Economy: Tax Cuts, Jobs and Balanced Budgets
- Excerpt: "David believes that the biggest problem our economy is facing is that business owners, especially small business owners are nervous, and reluctant to start hiring again. The federal government needs to stop spending more money, and start incentivizing the growth of businesses to encourage lasting job creation. "
- Second Amendment
- Excerpt: "David supports and protects the right to bear arms. He has received ‘A’ ratings from the from the National Rifle Association and in this past legislative session he was instrumental in passing a bill that protected the concealed weapons and firearms licensing trust fund from being raided, which would have amounted to a tax on the Second Amendment."
- Immigration
- Excerpt: "David believes that stopping illegal immigration starts by controlling our borders and strengthening existing penalties for people entering the country illegally. There are also many businesses that subsist on the work of illegal immigrants and David believes that the federal government must enact harsh penalties against employers that hire illegal immigrants. "
- Israel
- Excerpt: "David believes that Israel stands as a beacon of freedom in a region where freedom is especially stifled. Because of this he values the unique relationship that the United States and Israel have shared. David believes in providing foreign aid to Israel and will support calls to our Arab allies to work towards normalizing relations with Israel. "
- Iran
- Excerpt: "David believes in putting pressure on Iran to end its uranium enrichment and weaponry programs. He will support legislation and actions that condemn Iran if they continue to build up a nuclear and military threat against Israel and its neighbors in the Middle East and Europe. "
2010
Due toFlorida term limits, Rivera did not run for re-election in the Florida House of Representatives elections of 2010.[29]
On November 2, 2010, David Rivera won election to theUnited States House. He defeated Joe Garcia (D), Roly Arrojo (Tea Party) and Craig Porters (Florida Whig Party) in the general election.[30]
| U.S. House, Florida District 25 General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | David Rivera | 52.1% | 74,859 | |
| Democratic | Joe Garcia | 42.6% | 61,138 | |
| Tea Party | Roly Arrojo | 3% | 4,312 | |
| Florida Whig Party | Craig Porters | 2.3% | 3,244 | |
| Total Votes | 143,553 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Rivera won re-election to theFlorida House of Representatives from Florida's 112th District, defeating Maria Gonzalez (write-in). Rivera received 32,412 votes in the election while Gonzalez received 23 votes.[31] Rivera raised $347,946 for his campaign.[32]
| Florida House of Representatives, District 112 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| David Rivera (R) | 32,412 | 99.9% | ||
| Maria Gonzalez (write-in) | 23 | 0.1% | ||
Noteworthy events
Fined $456,000 for illegal campaign contributions (2021)
On February 23, 2021, United States District Court JudgeMarcia Cooke ruled Rivera must pay $456,000 in fines for an illegal campaign donation he made during the 2012 election cycle. Rivera donated at least $69,000 to candidateJustin Lamar Sternad (D) in an effort to alter the outcome of the Democratic primary—and ultimately his Democratic challenger—forFlorida's 26th Congressional District, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleged. The FEC originally filed the lawsuit in 2017.[33]
Campaign finance summary
Ballotpedia currently provides campaign finance data for all federal- and state-level candidates from 2020 and later. We are continuously working to expand our data to include prior elections. That information will be published here as we acquire it. If you would like to help us provide this data, please considerdonating to Ballotpedia.
Analysis
Congressional staff salaries
The websiteLegistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Rivera paid his congressional staff a total of $740,577 in 2011. He ranked 19th on the list of the lowest paid Republican representative staff salaries and ranked 21st overall of the lowest paid representative staff salaries in 2011. Overall,Florida ranked 36th in average salary for representative staff. The averageU.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[34]
Net worth
Based oncongressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available byOpenSecrets.org, Rivera's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $-148,998 and $164,999. That averages to $8,000.50, which was lower than the average net worth of Republican representatives in 2010 of $7,561,133.[35]
National Journal vote ratings
2011
- See also:National Journal vote ratings
Each yearNational Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Rivera ranked 143rd in the conservative rankings in 2011.[36]
Voting with party
David Rivera voted with the Republican Party92 of the time, which ranked 129 among the 242 House Republican members as of November 2011.Cite error: Invalid<ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many
Personal
Note: Pleasecontact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Rivera was born in New York,New York, in 1965 and moved to Miami,Florida, in 1974.[8]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the termsDavid Rivera Florida House. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑Florida Division of Elections, "Candidate List," accessed May 6, 2014
- ↑2.02.1Miami Herald, "David Rivera suspends Miami campaign for Congress," accessed July 14, 2014
- ↑3.03.1Miami Herald, "With beginning of early voting, former Congressman David Rivera returns to campaign trail," accessed August 13, 2014(dead link)
- ↑Politico, "Taddeo is 2nd Dem planning Rivera challenge" accessed December 3, 2011
- ↑5.05.1AP Results, "U.S. House Results," accessed August 14, 2012
- ↑ABC News, "2012 General Election Results," accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑GovTrack, "Rivera" accessed May 15, 2012
- ↑8.08.18.28.3Congressman David Rivera, "Full Biography" accessed October 24, 2011
- ↑Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namededucation - ↑10.010.1Congressman David Rivera, "Committees and Caucuses" accessed October 24, 2011
- ↑FOX News Latino, "Florida Republican Breaks ranked with Fellow Lawmakers and Supports Gingrich," January 17, 2012(dead link)
- ↑U.S. House, "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff," accessed January 4, 2013
- ↑The Miami Herald, "Amid FBI probe, GOP prepares for Rivera indictment, loss and future successors," October 2, 2013
- ↑14.014.1The Miami Herald, "In David Rivera investigation, suspected ringer charged in federal court in $81,486 scheme," February 22, 2013
- ↑Miami Herald, "Under federal investigation, ex-Rep. David Rivera announces he'll run for congress again," accessed May 8, 2014
- ↑The Washington Post, "Ex-representative Rivera used campaign cash for club dues," July 17, 2013
- ↑Federal Election Commission, "Details for Candidate ID : H0FL25038," accessed October 26, 2015
- ↑Florida Department of State, "Candidate listing for 2016 general election," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑Florida Division of Elections, "November 8, 2016 Official Election Results," accessed November 23, 2016
- ↑20.020.1Florida Department of State, "Candidates and Races," accessed July 1, 2016
- ↑21.021.1Florida Division of Elections, "August 30, 2016 Official Election Results," accessed September 22, 2016
- ↑Associated Press, "Primary Results 2014," accessed August 26, 2014
- ↑The Huffington Post, "Election 2014," November 4, 2014
- ↑Politico, "2012 Election Map, Florida"
- ↑Florida Election Division, "Candidate List," accessed March 28, 2012
- ↑New York Times, "House Ratings" accessed October 3
- ↑ABC News, "2012 General Election Results," accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑Campaign website, Issues
- ↑Florida Department of Elections, "List of 2010 state legislative candidates in Florida," November 2, 2010
- ↑U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑Florida Department of Elections, "Florida House Official Election Results," November 4, 2008
- ↑District 112 Florida House candidate funds, 2008
- ↑Florida Politics, "David Rivera fined $456K for campaign finance violations," February 24, 2021
- ↑LegiStorm, "David Rivera"
- ↑OpenSecrets, "Rivera, (R-Florida), 2010"
- ↑National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," accessed February 23, 2012
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mario Diaz-Balart (R) | U.S. House of Representatives - Florida, District 25 2011–2013 | Succeeded by Mario Diaz-Balart (R) |
| Preceded by ' | Florida House of Representatives District 112 2003–2011 | Succeeded by Jeanette Nuñez |
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