This morning, conservative journalist, blogger, and political consultant Javier Manjarres announced he is running for Congress in Florida’s 22nd congressional district, against incumbent Democrat Rep. Ted Deutch.

Deutch was the subject of an article here at RedState recently, detailing his attempt to make himself part of the Parkland story.

Deutch, a resident of wealthy Boca Raton, is at the forefront of efforts to enact new gun bans in congress after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, nearby to Boca Raton and within his district.

Majarres is making that gun control stance a primary part of his campaign, and featured it in his announcement.

This is from this morning’s press release.

“The recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida is a reminder that shameful extremists like Deutch will go as far as to lie in their ongoing efforts of exploiting victims of the shooting for political expediency and gain. He has offered Americans nothing more than failed leadership and ideological policies.” said Manjarres.

He reiterates that point at the end of his message to supporters.

As law abiding Americans, we have the obligation to protect and defend every single word of the document that has afforded us the rights and freedoms that we hold dear to our hearts.

Our Constitution.

Majarres, a Trump supporter, runs the influential Florida political blog, The Shark Tank. He’s also first-generation Colombian-American, something he is quick to point out, saying that if he wins he would be the first Colombian-American member of Congress.

The son of working class Colombian immigrants believes that this country has “reached a major crossroads” and that, collectively as a nation, Americans “can either choose the path of greater government accountability, economic prosperity and freedom,” or they can “continue along the path of failure the last presidential administration and the corrupt political establishment has plagued” them with.

You may recall Mamjarres’ name from a bizarre story in 2016 where he was briefly charged with attempted murder before he was cleared and all charges were dropped. It will come up a lot. It won’t change the reality of Deutch.

At Hot Air, Ed Morrissey wrote about Javi’s then potential run for Congress just over a week ago.

Javier could face long odds for this seat in FL-22. The current incumbent, Ted Deutch, is on his fourth straight term in the southern district, although he’s been shifted around because of redistricting. Conservative Republican Allen West won a term in the seat, but redistricting forced him to run for FL-18, a race he lost. The shifts make the seat’s history a little fragmented and difficult to read for trends, but Lois Frankel won it twice before Deutch got redistricted into FL-22, and he won handily in 2016, 59/41. The district has a Cook rating of D+6, which might underestimate the strength of Democrats in this Broward-Palm Beach district.

The Sun Sentinel notes the difficult road ahead for Javier, and suggests that he may be operating as a wild card to force Deutch into focusing on his own back yard in 2018

Morrissey is correct about a difficult road. But a strong run against a gun-grabber in this climate is not impossible. And more than worth it, if it forces Deutch to answer to his constituents about real policy rather than spending his time catering to the far left pressure groups currently pulling his strings.

Manjarres’ website is at www.VoteJavi.com. Below is the message his campaign sent out to supporters on Tuesday morning.

“Hi, I’m Javier Manjarres, and after speaking to friends and loved ones, not to mention giving this a lot of thought and prayer.

Today, I am announcing that I’m running for U.S. Congress in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District.

Look, my story is no different than yours and that of millions of other Americans.

I am the proud son of two American parents who immigrated from Colombia to our country with the same dream that many others have- to make a better life for themselves and for their children.

My mom was a school teacher and my dad served in the army during the Vietnam War era. He later went on to work as a car salesman and ultimately became a supermarket manager.

And like most middle class American families, my family has had our fair share of financial and personal struggles.

Trust me when I tell you that we are no different than most families.

The struggles we endured instilled in me a strong work ethic and the confidence to venture out on my own and fulfill my American Dream to own a small business.

But that American Dream that we strive to obtain is under assault.

We have reached a major crossroads in our nation’s history- we can either choose the path of greater government accountability, economic prosperity and freedom, OR we can continue along the path of failure, caused by the corrupt political establishment in Washington D.C.

The opposition that we face in this race supports misguided and un-American foreign and domestic policies that have left us exposed to greater dangers both at home and abroad.

From aggressively pushing legislation that raises our taxes and tramples over our constitutional rights, to voting for a disastrous and disruptive healthcare law, and finally, their shameless exploitation of a tragic high school shooting for political gain— THAT is what we are up against.

That’s what they stand for.

My family and friends clearly understand what we’re up against we expect that my opponent, his surrogates and accomplices will sink to great depths to impugn my reputation to distract from his record of failure.

This is what we can expect from extremists who cannot effectively defend their failed ideology and policies

As your congressional representative, I’m pledging to provide leadership, accountability and transparency. I will work tirelessly to bring an end to the waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption that is rampant throughout Washington D.C.

But I can’t do this alone.

I need your help to spread the word about our campaign.

I need your support.

I need your donation.

And I need your vote.

As law abiding Americans, we have the obligation to protect and defend every single word of the document that has afforded us the rights and freedoms that we hold dear to our hearts.

Our Constitution.

Thank you. May God Bless you and may God bless our United States of America.”

You can find Javier on Twitter here, and the campaign website, www.VoteJavi.com

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