Florida’s Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart won’t seek 11th term

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Florida Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart said Thursday he would not seek reelection after nearly two decades in office as one of the country’s most prominent Cuban American politicians and a vocal opponent of Cuba’s communist government.

Diaz-Balart, 55, said he chose not to run again while he remained in a strong position: He has no notable challengers, and Republicans appear likely to gain seats in the House.

Shortly after Thursday’s announcement, his younger brother Mario, a Republican congressman representing the district neighboring his brother’s, said he planned to switch districts and run for the vacated seat, which is home to many of the region’s Cuban exiles.

Lincoln Diaz-Balart said he plans to return to his law practice and continue working for democracy in Cuba, including setting up a nonprofit organization to promote the ideals espoused by his late father, Rafael Diaz-Balart, who helped lead one of the first opposition movements against Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

“I am convinced that in the upcoming chapter of the struggle, I can be more useful to the inevitable change that will soon come to Cuba, to Cuba’s freedom, as a private citizen,” he told reporters at Florida International University’s law school, named for his father.

Diaz-Balart’s father was a one-time friend of Castro and his aunt became Castro’s first wife. But when he was a child, his family fled Cuba for Miami after the Cuban revolution. His brother was born in Florida.

Lincoln Diaz-Balart frequently used his position on the powerful House Rules Committee to negotiate votes for legislation he championed, such as the U.S. embargo of Cuba. He said one of his most important accomplishments was turning the embargo from an executive order into a law only Congress can overturn.

--Associated Press