Lev Parnas, a former associate of Rudy Giuliani who was a key figure in former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment investigation, is joining a crowded field of Democratic candidates seeking to unseat Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar.
In a campaign announcement on Thursday, Parnas, who was born in the former Soviet Union to Jewish refugee parents, said he was running for Congress “with a focus on cleaning up Washington’s corruption, holding the powerful to account, strengthening affordability, expanding support for seniors, and improving our desperately broken immigration system.”
“Families across Florida’s 27th District are being squeezed from every direction — groceries, rent, healthcare, 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.”
His campaign did acknowledge his criminal past, saying it “included both professional successes and highly public challenges, including his appearance in a widely viewed documentary and a period of federal custody connected to past legal issues.”
READ MORE: Giuliani associate Lev Parnas is sentenced to 20 months in prison
On June 29, 2022, Parnas, was sentenced in a New York federal court to a year and eight months in prison for fraud and campaign finance crimes by a judge who said fraud had become “a way of life” for Parnas. He was also ordered to pay $2.3 million in restitution.
He had sought leniency on grounds that he’d cooperated with the Congressional probe of Trump and his efforts to get Ukrainian leaders to investigate President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter.
At his sentencing, Parnas sobbed and apologized to those who had lost money investing in his business ventures.
“A lot that you heard is true, your honor. I have not been a good person my whole life. I’ve made mistakes. And I admit it,” Parnas said. “I want to apologize to all the victims that I hurt. These are all people who are my friends, all people who trusted me, and I lied to them to further my personal agenda.”
The criminal case against Parnas zeroed in on donations Parnas had illegally made to a number of U.S. politicians using the riches of a wealthy Russian to jump-start a legal recreational-marijuana business.
Parnas had pleaded guilty to a wire fraud conspiracy, admitting that he and a partner had given investors false information about a Florida-based business, Fraud Guarantee, that promised it could protect people against fraud. That new company hired Giuliani as a consultant at a time when some Ukrainian figures were trying to curry favor with the Trump administration, agreeing to pay him $500,000.
The Parnas congressional campaign said Thursday that the federal criminal case marked a “turning point" in his life "that strengthened his commitment to accountability, transparency, and service.”
“‘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.
The race among Democrats to unseat Salazar includes Robin Peguero and businessman Richard Lamondin. Former Key Biscayne Mayor Mike Davey dropped out of the race and endorsed Peguero.
National Democrats have labeled the Salazar seat as a target to win in 2026. The non-partisan Cook Political Report says it’s a “solid Republican” seat, meaning it’s not competitive.
Salazar won by roughly 21 points against former Miami-Dade school board member Lucia Baez-Geller in 2024.
The Democratic primary will take place on Aug. 18 and will be followed by the general election on Nov. 3, 2026.
Learn more about Democratic candidate Lev Parnas’s campaign here.
Learn more about Democratic candidate Robin Peguero’s campaign here.
Learn more about Democratic candidate Richard Lamondin’s campaign here.
Learn more about incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar's campaign here
