According to a new report issued by a noted Watchdog group, Florida Democratic congressional candidate Annette Taddeo purposefully withheld crucial stock interests from her campaign financial report.
A look at Taddeo’s financial history may give a hint as to why she chose to take such a drastic move: Taddeo revealed a substantial position in a US oil major in 2016 and now blames oil corporations of “pricing gouging.”
Taddeo, who is running to try and unseat Rep. Maria Salazar (R., Fla.), violated federal law and House ethics rules in her July 6 financial disclosure by failing to disclose the stocks held in her investment accounts, according to a Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust complaint.
During her former failed congressional campaign in 2016, Taddeo did reveal the equities in those accounts, which included a $100,000 interest in ExxonMobil, America’s largest oil firm.
Taddeo accused Salazar on July 15 of failing to stand up to oil companies, which she accused of “price gouging at the pumps.” On her campaign website, Taddeo pledges to “be a champion in Congress for taking on [the] corporate greed that’s worsened our current economic crisis” and also vocally opposed what she calls “price gouging” by oil companies.
In addition to the aforementioned alleged ethics violations, Taddeo also has a long and impressive history of political failure:
Taddeo previously ran unsuccessfully for Congress in Florida’s 18th Congressional District in 2008.
Taddeo then tried to campaign for but ultimately lost a seat on the Miami County Commission two years later.
Taddeo was the running mater for failed Democratic gubernatorial contender Charlie Crist in 2014; the pair lost to incumbent Republican Rick Scott.
Taddeo then ran for Congress in Florida’s 26th Congressional District not long after, but lost in the primary to fellow Democrat Joe Garcia.
The report also noted that Taddeo has “called herself a member of the middle class despite being worth $5.7 million and living in a 6,500-square-foot mansion,” a fact which has led many to “view her as a wealthy elitist who lacks commonality with everyday middle-class families.”
According to property records she has since sold her mansion.
Taddeo was finally able to notch her first political win in 2017 when she notched a victory in a contest for State Senate.
Taddeo will face down Salazar in November, a race most election observers expect her to lose.
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