Politics
United Christians of America recommends Fabián Basabe, Mike Caruso in voter guides
Miami Beach Rep. Fabián Basabe and suspended County Clerk Mike Caruso have both faced troubling accusations of sexual impropriety, but that isn’t stopping a national Christian conservative advocacy group from endorsing them.
In voting guides for the statewide General Election and Palm Beach County, the Florida-based United Christians of America’s Sunshine State arm is recommending voters cast ballots for both men.
A jury found Basabe liable for sexually harassing, battering and defaming two former House employees and ordered him to pay them $450,000 in damages.
Basabe, who was accused of rape by another man and of making unwelcome sexual advances by a third former House staffer, has denied wrongdoing and is appealing the verdict.
Caruso, a former state lawmaker, faces five felony counts related to the sexual abuse of a relative under 5 years old: kidnapping, lewd or lascivious molestation, lewd or lascivious exhibition, luring or enticing a child, and child abuse (mental injury).
Police arrested him on Aug. 18 following an investigation into the matter, and Gov. Ron DeSantis — who appointed Caruso as Clerk last year — suspended him from office the same day.
Caruso, too, has maintained he is innocent and has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which mirror accusations of child sexual abuse that his ex-wife lodged against him during 2012 divorce proceedings.
Both men are Republicans. Both face a Democratic opponent in the General Election. Basabe has a challenge in former Miami-Dade County School Board Member Lucia Báez-Geller. Caruso is running against Boca Raton Council Member Yvette Drucker in an effort to win back his old job.
Neither Báez-Geller nor Drucker has had similar accusations lodged against them. Yet the Riverview-headquartered United Christians of America — established in 2008 as a multistate expansion of United Christians of Florida, which launched in 1986 — is standing by Basabe and Caruso.
Florida Politics contacted the organization by phone and email Friday to ask if it still supported them, but received no response by press time.
Florida Politics received no response on whether they still support Basabe from numerous current and former officials who endorsed him before the July verdict, including Hialeah Republican Rep. Alex Rizo; Bay Harbor Islands Mayor Isaac Salver; Golden Beach Mayor Glenn Singer; North Bay Village Mayor Rachel Streitfeld; Bay Harbor Islands Vice Mayor Stephanie Bruder; North Bay Village Vice Mayor Goran Cuk; Golden Beach Vice Mayor Judy Lusskin; Bay Harbor Islands Council Member Joshua Fuller; Golden Beach Council Members Kenneth Bernstein, Bernard Einstein and Jessie Mendal; North Bay Village Commissioners Doris Acosta, Richard Chervony and Andy Daro; Sunny Isles Beach Commissioner Fabiola Struyvesant; and former Sunny Isles Beach Mayor Dana Goldman.
Officials who rescinded their endorsements of Basabe include Kissimmee Democratic Rep. Jose Alvarez, Sunny Isles Beach Vice Mayor Jennifer Viscarra, Surfside Commissioner Ruben Coto, Sunny Isles Beach Commissioner Alex Lama and Bal Harbour Council Member Buzzy Sklar.
Five of Miami Beach’s seven City Commission members also called for Basabe to resign, citing an on-video promise he made in 2024 to step down if it was ever proven he was guilty of what the jury found him liable for doing.
Basabe has since argued that he was not found guilty in criminal court and therefore has no obligation to leave office. In an opinion piece submitted to the Miami New Times, the sophomore lawmaker pointed to his physical appearance as proof of his innocence, writing, “Open your eyes and look at me. I don’t need to rape shit.”
Caruso, meanwhile, snagged a post-arrest endorsement from the Palm Beach County GOP. The endorsement triggered immediate bipartisan backlash that led the party to withdraw its nod less than 24 hours later.
Basabe represents House District 106, which includes Miami Beach and several northeastern coastal communities through Aventura. He won the seat in 2022 by only 240 votes and retained office two years later, winning by approximately 4 percentage points.
Florida Politics ranked the HD 106 race sixth on its list of the 11 South Florida races to watch heading into the General Election.
Election Day is Nov. 3.
United Christians of America has made some interesting headlines in the past 15 years.
In 2013, its leadership pursued an amendment that would place Christianity at the foundation of Florida government, replacing the Florida Constitution’s religious-freedom section with language recognizing the Bible and Christianity as central to society. Florida Politics at the time published a column critical of the effort, calling it an “empty gesture” and a waste of public resources.
The effort fizzled before reaching voters, gathering no signatures and raising no money.
Then in 2015, the group endorsed Jacksonville candidates opposed to extending the city’s Human Rights Ordinance to LGBTQ residents. When asked about its endorsement decisions, local representative Raymond Johnson, a Confederate flag enthusiast, referred queries to the group’s Chair at the time, Michael Nelis.
Later that year, Florida Politics detailed communication by Johnson to local pastors, which portrayed the LGBTQ protections as a “Christian persecution law” and attacked the City Council as excessively pro-gay.
In 2019, the state revoked the group’s Florida PAC registration following years of reporting problems. United Christians of America openly disputes this action, writing on its “About” page that it solicits no contributions and believes it remained compliant without filing additional reports showing no activity, accusing political adversaries and elected officials of targeting it.
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