White House, DCCC court Garcia

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The White House and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee are mounting an intensive effort to land a top recruit for the House seat being vacated by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.)

Former Miami-Dade Democratic Party Chairman Joe Garcia held Diaz-Balart to 53 percent of the vote in the 2008 election and is now leaning towards running for the open seat, according to several Florida Democrats close to him. But he's waiting to make sure party officials are willing to invest in his campaign.

Garcia, who runs the Energy Department's Office of Minority Economic Impact and Diversity, has spoken with White House political director Patrick Gaspard and DCCC officials in the last week to discuss his interest in the race. He has also been in contact with staffers from his 2008 campaign in preparation for another bid.

"They know they can win the seat, they feel that Joe is the guy can pull it off," said one Democratic operative familiar with Garcia's decision-making process. "The question is whether they can commit the financial resources."

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/32989.html