
Former Rep Lincoln Diaz-Balart, brother of sitting congressman, dead at 70
Fox News
Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., has died at the age of 70. He served 18 years in Congress.
Lincoln Diaz-Balart served Floridians as a member of the Republican Party. The Cuban refugee first got into politics by "leading the Florida Young Democrats and running an unsuccessful campaign for the Florida legislature as a Democrat in 1982," his congressional biography states.
He formally switched his party allegiance in 1985 and was elected to the Florida legislature in 1986. Then, he "sponsored laws strengthening sentences for crimes against law enforcement officers, increasing penalties for drug-related money laundering, providing low-interest loans for home construction, creating a statewide program to combat substance abuse, and establishing disclosure rules for Florida companies doing business with Cuba," according to the biography.