Former Rudolph Giuliani associate Lev Parnas has jumped into a House race in Florida as a Democrat.
Parnas was convicted of campaign finance crimes in 2021. Months later he pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison in 2022. He completed his sentence from home in 2023.
He announced his campaign on his Substack. He is running for Florida’s 27th Congressional District, currently represented by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican.
“I came to this country as an immigrant who believed in the promise of America,” he wrote. “I grew up understanding that freedom, democracy, and opportunity are not guaranteed — they must be protected. Over the past several years, I have seen firsthand what happens when corruption, extremism, and political cowardice take hold of our government.”
“And I refuse to sit on the sidelines any longer,” he said. “I’ve spent years speaking out, exposing corruption, and warning about the dangers facing our democracy. Now it’s time to take that fight directly where it belongs — to Congress.”
In a video included in the post, he said he is running “because I know the system, Donald Trump’s system, from the inside.”
“Because remember, I helped build MAGA,” he said.
Parnas, who is a Ukrainian-born naturalized citizen, worked with Mr. Giuliani, a staunch Trump ally and his former lawyer, to try and get Ukrainian officials to investigate former President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.
Mr. Trump endorsed Ms. Salazar in the race last month, saying she is doing a “truly fantastic job.”
