Mar 5, 2026

Republican Leaders Look to JCRC Following Outrage Over Antisemitic Texts

Republican leadership in Miami-Dade moved quickly to engage with Federation’s Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) following local news reports that the secretary of the Miami-Dade County Republican Party engaged in viscerally antisemitic and racist rhetoric in a group chat. Many of our Republican friends and allies issued unequivocal condemnations of the hateful messages and those responsible for them. Those who spoke out included US Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar; State Sens. Ileana Garcia, Alexis Calatayud and Ana Maria Rodriguez, State Rep. Juan Porras, County Commissioner Natalie Milan Orbis; and Miami-Dade Republican Party Chair Kevin Cooper. Chair Cooper subsequently announced that a majority of the party’s executive board had voted to formally request the secretary’s resignation. JCRC invests significant time encouraging leaders to confront and call out extremism within their own ranks. The swift and principled response from these elected officials is a powerful reminder of why that work matters.