Lev Parnas enters race against Maria Elvira Salazar

A donor who once led Rudy Giuliani chasing conspiracies in Ukraine will join a growing field of challengers to U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar.

Lev Parnas, now an anti-Donald Trump blogger, announced his campaign in Florida’s 27th Congressional District.

“Families across Florida’s 27th District are being squeezed from every direction—groceries, rent, health care, and the cost of simply trying to build a life in Miami,” Parnas said.

“For years, this community has lived with the consequences of national immigration and economic policies that have created uncertainty for families and instability for local businesses. We need leadership that understands what these policies have meant on the ground and is willing to fight for real solutions.”

Parnas runs the Substack blog Lev Remembers, where he regularly criticizes the President and his administration. His campaign stressed his long ties to South Florida, as well as the fact that he, like many in Miami-Dade County, arrived in the U.S. as a refugee.

Born in Russia, Parnas came to America at age 3 with his parents, who feared persecution as Jews.

He plans to campaign on a message of easing the financial strains on small business owners and seniors in the state, including by improving the affordability of health care. He also wants to address student loan burdens, challenges to immigration and environmental resilience.

Notably, his website never identifies his political party, and a release calls him a “highly influential independent voice.” He has, over the years, maintained ties to both the left and the right.

Parnas once helped Giuliani on fact-finding missions in Ukraine, which ultimately contributed to Trump’s first impeachment. He helped connect figures tied to Trump in demanding investigations into Hunter Biden, the son of then-presidential candidate Joe Biden. But he was later convicted on charges of fraud and campaign finance crimes and sentenced to 20 months in prison.

In Florida, he became notorious for his association with Gov. Ron DeSantis, pictured together on the night of his election as Governor. After Parnas and business associate Igor Fruman were arrested in 2019, DeSantis said he had been unaware of any criminal activities by the men and that he knew Parnas primarily as one of Trump’s top donors in Florida. DeSantis ultimately returned $50,000 to the treasury that his political committee had raised from Parnas and Fruman.

But following his legal troubles, Parnas became a vocal critic of Trump. He published the tell-all book “Shadow Diplomacy: Lev Parnas and His Wild Ride from Brooklyn to Trump’s Inner Circle.” Rachel Maddow, a liberal pundit on MSNOW,  produced a documentary about Parnas’ life called “From Russia with Lev.”

“‘Enough is Enough,’ is my motto and I’m running to be your voice—to bring accountability, and real solutions to Washington so families, seniors, immigrants, and small business owners in our community finally get the leadership they deserve,” Parnas said.