Janet Cruz is running for the District 18 seat in the Florida state Senate.

TAMPA – The Florida AFL-CIO today endorsed House Minority Leader Janet Cruz in her campaign for State Senate District 18, one of the most watched and competitive races in the state.

The Florida AFL-CIO’s 500 local labor unions and councils represent more than one million workers, retirees, and their families, including construction workers, health care employees, classroom teachers, first responders, and hotel and restaurant workers.

“We need a fighter for workers in Tallahassee — to lower healthcare costs, raise wages, and make sure the hard working people of Florida are respected, safe, and prospering,” said Mike Williams, president of the Florida AFL-CIO. “Leader Cruz is our champion because she’s lived it — having been a single working mom trying to keep the lights on, food on the table, and to get ahead for herself and her children.”

“I’m honored to stand with the working people of the Florida AFL-CIO,” Cruz said. “I will fight every day to make sure workers have a voice in Tallahassee— a voice that speaks louder than special interests making healthcare less affordable, our schools less safe and less funded, and wages less than they should be. Together, we are going to flip this seat and put workers first.”

This endorsement is the second major endorsement Cruz has snapped up. Last month, the Florida Education Association endorsed her.

Cruz is a fourth generation Tampa resident, descended from Spanish and Italian cigar makers. Cruz was elected to the State House in a February 2010 special election. In February of 2015, Cruz was unanimously elected as the Leader Designate of the House Democratic Caucus for the 2016-2018 term. She became the first Hispanic House Minority Leader. She was recognized for her legislative service by the Community Health Charities of Florida, the Florida Health Care Association, the American Cancer Society, and the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation.

Before running for office, Cruz was an optician and later the director of Optical Operations for Cigna Healthcare, as well as being active in her community as a volunteer for Paint Your Heart Out Tampa, a member of the Hillsborough Community College Alumni Foundation, and Corporate Chair of Cigna Healthcare for the United Way Campaign.

Cruz is running for the District 18 seat in the state Senate, which is currently held by Republican Dana Young. District 18 is spread from South Tampa to northwest Hillsborough County.

The election is Nov. 6.

For information about Cruz, go to janetcruz2018.com.

Janet Cruz | Dana Young | Florida AFL-CIO | Florida Education Association | Politics | Elections | Tampabay News

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