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Left Out Loud is a progressive political podcast breaking down the biggest stories shaping our democracy. From up-to-the-minute political news and midterm election coverage to in-depth interviews with grassroots Democratic candidates, the show spotlights the voices and movements fighting for real change. Smart, informed, and unapologetically loud, Left Out Loud pairs sharp analysis with humor and plain-spoken commentary, cutting through the noise to focus on what actually matters. If you care about elections, organizing, and the future of the Democratic Party—and you like your politics with a little personality—this is the podcast for you.
Okay.
Ronnie Merchenson-Rivera,
welcome to Left Out Loud.
Thank
you for having me.
Thank you so much for joining us today.
Well, thanks for having me.
So
Ronnie, you are running for Congress
in Florida's sixth district.
Yeah.
Which I took a look at that, and it's
on the eastern coast of Florida, right?
Mm-hmm.
And I think for like the
non-Floridians watching this,
probably the most famous city in
your district would be Daytona Beach.
Yeah.
Is that right?
Mm-hmm.
And so in my heyday, that was the
premier destination for spring breakers,
um, that were traveling within the US.
I don't know if it's still like that,
but in the '90s- Oh, it still is
it was a time.
It was a time, Ronnie.
So I wanna start off with, um, you
were born and raised in New York City.
Mm-hmm.
And then you moved to Florida,
um, almost 10 years ago now.
Mm-hmm.
Those two places are very
different culturally, politically.
How has that experience of living,
you know, growing up in New York
City and now being, you know, a
Florida resident, how have those two
experiences kind of shaped the type
of representative that you wanna be?
Um, first I'm say Happy Mother's Day.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Um, but- Thank
you so much, and to your wife as well.
Thank you.
And your mother.
Oh, yeah, y- my mother, so all
my family's still up north.
Most of my family- Oh ... is still
in New York and, and Connecticut.
Wow.
And, and I think, um, running for
Congress here, coming from a diverse
background, a place like New York City
is, is, is a great thing for Florida.
Um, it is different, but it's
similarly alike as far as what we,
what we want in our country, right?
Um, I was just talking to somebody
yesterday who was also from New York, and
he said, you know, "People are h- down
here are just the meanest." You know?
A- a- he'd been here for
almost about the same time.
I say, "You know, you're right,"
'cause in New York we see people down.
Um, you know, we, we go, we
try to best to help them.
We can just tell on somebody face
when somebody needs help, and we-
Yeah ... we're open about it and
willing say, "Are you okay?" Here it's
like- Yeah ... you just... Like, they
arrest people for begging for food.
Mm. Um, I mean, it's, it's that,
and then people call the cops on
mothers just trying to get by.
Right.
And, and, and
it's a dimit- different atmosphere,
but i- it's not everywhere, but
it's a majority of the places.
Mm-hmm.
And it's, it's because of the political
climate we're in here in Florida.
Yeah.
Um, I think the, I think the Republicans
took a, took advantage of Florida
and turned it into what it is now.
And, and, and it's hard for us to get out
of, but it's- Mm-hmm ... but it's, we are.
We're, we're doing it slowly
but surely, but it's happening.
But I, I... Coming from New York, it,
it, it, it taught me a lot of things
and, and, uh, and a lot of people, I
can, I can tell them what, what could
be the Florida that we want, 'cause I
came from a place that, that everybody
is asking for, and they're like- Yeah
"Wow, that'd be great," you know?
Absolutely.
And, and New York went through, has gone
through so many, you know, uh, phases-
Mm-hmm ... throughout its existence.
I started going to New York City in
the '80s as a kid, and it's a very
different place, um, then than it is now.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
Uh, and different administrations
have come and gone and, and made a
lot of changes in New York City, and
I, you know, I still believe it's one
of the greatest cities in the world.
Um, and you're right, people
do care in New York City.
There is, there's a sort of a misguided,
uh, you know, opinion that New Yorkers
are cold and, and calloused and, you
know, they, they don't talk to each
other and the streets are crowded,
and that's just really not the vibe-
Mm-hmm ... if you've ever been to, lived
in, or, you know, visited New York City.
Yeah, you're right.
Most of them go to Times Square.
It is packed and crowded-
Yeah ... and, uh, but there, there's
a life outside of Times Square
that, yes, you know, we are tough.
I mean, it is rough.
I mean- Mm-hmm ... there's, there's a
rough place in every state, in every
city, in every country you go to.
But at the end of the day, trust me,
the,
the, the, the most mean, meanest
gangster there got a, a soft heart
somewhere, especially- Mm-hmm
for children and elderly and homeless.
So we care.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Ronnie, I wanted to get into a little
bit of your background as an EMS worker,
and I'm sure that it really, uh, you
know, ingratiates you into the community.
You get to know the community
really quickly because, you
know, you're having to drive all
over the place and help people.
Um, I just want to, I'd want to know,
um, from, uh, from your perspective,
what has it done, uh, making you think
about the healthcare system and, you
know, what we can do to help people?
Because I'm sure you've seen
people go, "Don't take me to the
emergency room," because, you
know, they can't afford that bill.
What, what's it been like your, in
your experience as an EMS worker?
It's absolutely just... I saw people,
uh, call us just to help them right
there and say, "Is my blood pressure
high?" "No." "Okay, don't take me
'cause I don't need to go." Or, "Is it
high enough where I might die?" Wow.
Uh, "Yeah." "Well, you know, I can't
go 'cause I can't afford the bill."
Um, um, it's that bad and
it, and it's gotten worse.
Um, when I lived in New York, I've
tr- I, I, I, I started a nonprofit
organization with the intention of,
of starting a free ambulance service-
Um, for people who can't afford it.
And of course, that was-
Uh-huh ... shot down by big corporate
people who, who are for profits.
'Cause the people- Mm-hmm ... who,
um, sat on the board to give us the
license to run the ambulance service,
uh, or the owners or the CEOs are
for-profit, and they believe we
were gonna trample over their money.
Of course.
Um, because where I lived at in
New York City during this time
was Rockaway Beach, was the beach.
Yeah.
And there was a lot of nursing homes
there, uh, 'cause they usually ship
them, the elderly population off
into a island l- like Rockaway.
And- Mm-hmm ... we didn't get
that, that portion up and running,
but we didn't give up hope.
We s- we kept doing first
responder, um, stuff.
We kept homeless services,
veteran services.
But yeah, working in EMS has,
has... I've worked in, uh, one
of the... I worked in the South
Bronx for a majority of my career.
I saw a lot.
I, I- Yeah ... saw people come
together at the worst of the worst.
I saw people, um, um, stay home
because they can't afford it.
But at the end of the day, uh, I saw
community come together and help one
another out 'cause, uh, you know, just
as much as that person couldn't afford
to go to the hospital, the neighbor will
hear that and be like, "You know what?
Let me try to s- help you do
something." But we need to change
this atmosphere where, uh, health
insurance and medical insurance and
medical help is not a necessity.
Mm. It's, it should be a right.
Uh, we need- Yeah ... it to survive.
That's why when I go canvassing and
I go talk, my top two policies, of
course, is affordability, right?
Of course, affordability is,
it's on everybody's plate.
But I tell people, healthcare is my number
one thing because y- I can help, I can
push to get your APR rate lowered to
buy a house or, you know, um, your, your
medical debt not affect your credit score.
But if you're not here to
enjoy that, what is the point?
Yeah.
And if you can't get the help and take
care of your body and y- there's a chance
for you to die, it makes no sense for
me to help get your roads fixed and
all that other good stuff or, you know-
Right ... you gotta be here to enjoy that.
So healthcare is number one.
You gotta take care of yourself.
And I saw a lot, but it also helped
me into why I'm running for US
Congress to show that, y- you know,
I was born in the project as well.
I didn't have a lot growing up.
My mother was a, not a single mom.
My dad was in my life, but we
lived with her by ourselves, right?
And it taught me a lot.
My life have taught me a lot, and that's
why I'm so into giving back because I
don't want people to end up the way I saw
and the way, you know, I, I was, you know,
raised for the first couple of years.
Yeah.
Makes total sense.
Um, y- you know, you're exactly right.
Without healthcare, that's the
foundation to everything, right?
Um, and so you worked, uh, correct
me if I'm wrong, you worked as an EMS
worker, you've worked in education-
Yeah ... you've worked in law enforcement.
All of those public service jobs
are so much more, um, outcome
oriented than optics oriented.
Yeah.
So running for office, you're going
into a world where the focus is more
about optics and less on outcome.
What do you think you bring to the table
if you were to get into Washington DC
that you could potentially shift some
mindsets from optics to actual outcomes
that are gonna benefit American people?
Absolutely.
And, and, and that's, we need to change
that, because it shouldn't be who
looks the best, what party is the best.
Yeah.
Uh, this, this looks okay
because we're feeding people.
We need to go in there and show them
that there's a person like me who
came from the struggle, who, who,
who lived in it, and, and we don't
care about what you think or what you
see, we care about the outcome of it.
And, and, and- Mm-hmm ... the
divi- the dividedness, uh, how
divided Congress is right now.
Yeah.
People are seeing that.
I mean, how can you expect the
world and people not to be divided
if the people who run this country
is divided themselves, right?
Um, so I'm coming in with the mindset
of that if we want change, we have to,
we have to show that there's change.
We have to show the people that
here is the change, not just say,
"Ronnie," uh, like a lot of people say.
You know, a lot of
people talk a good game.
Yeah.
And I said, "Look at my background in EMS
and law enforcement and, and like you just
mentioned, all those good things. I have
proof of what I've done, and I, I, I can
show you the receipts of what I've done."
Yeah.
And my goal is not to go in there
and start talking and, and, and, and
saying, "This is what I'm gonna do
for you." I'm gonna actually do it.
Yeah.
And, and the mindset is we gotta get...
You know, it's ultimately gonna have
to come that these people who's been
in Congress for so long has to go.
Um- Yeah ... we need people in
there who actually lived this
experience and not bottle-fed
and spoon-fed their whole lives.
Um, because they don't understand the
real, real, real struggle of everyday
working Americans if they were just given
everything, everything their whole lives.
Right.
Right?
Right.
And so we have to show it.
And we've been showing it.
You know, got people like I, I, I
adore AOC, uh, 'cause she come from
same city as me, and she came- Yeah
from the struggle and, and, and,
and people like that, that, that's
now getting into a position where
she's not giving up, or was she?
Yeah.
You know?
'Cause she came from it.
I mean- She understands.
She understands- Yeah ... the
struggles of, you know, the community
where she grew up, and she'll
carry that with her forever, right?
Yeah.
She's worked in the service industry.
Yeah.
And those are the kind of things
that, that stay with you for life.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I agree.
Ronnie, uh, you know, Zohran Mamdani's
already done so much to help New Yorkers.
Yeah.
Uh, and you know, come- and coming
from there, I'm sure you're-
you're just so happy to see that
finally happening for your fellow
New Yorkers and stuff like that.
What- what can you done and what have
you kinda seen, uh, with Mamdani and what
he's doing up there that you would like
to see happen in New York for working
family, 'cause, uh, for working families?
'Cause I know- In Florida ... that
working families is one of, is one of
their, your biggest things in Florida.
Listen,
I- I... Oof.
Please
let me get his
endorsement.
I'm working on some things.
Um- You know, I love this guy.
I- listen, my family's up there and
they s- they actually seen the change.
That's what I wanna see in Florida.
I don't want a politician to just talk
the talk, 'cause that's what New York
has been having for so many years.
You get these politicians who come in and
say, "We're gonna do this, we're gonna
do that. We're gonna give free childcare,
lower the cost, tax the rich." And
then once they get in office, the green
dollar sign is all in their eyes and they
just forget about the people, really.
Um, that's what I wanna see in
Florida, because Zohran Mamdani,
how long he's been in office?
We're in May.
He's got it about five,
four or five months.
Crazy, right?
Look at the amount of things he
got done in- Yeah ... five months.
You get what I'm saying?
Mm-hmm.
And it shows that when you get a real
leader who's actually really there to
change things, it can actually happen,
and that's what we need to see in Florida.
Too many people are lining their pockets,
greed, don't really care about the people.
Putting money over, you know, the people.
And Zohran Mamdani is a real guy and...
that's really doing what he said.
Yeah.
And that's what I wanna see in Florida.
I want, I want people like me, who's
gonna get into office and pull a Zohran
Mamdani, and actually do what I'm telling
these people that I'm going to do.
And I want them- Mm ... to hold me
accountable because he made offices and-
and channels to- to reach directly to
him for problems, like the pothole thing.
Yeah.
People don't understand that it
might be a small thing for you guys,
but in New York, those potholes is
a real deal, deal situation, right?
And for him to actually listen
and get 90% of it fixed, and when
after, like, a cry within a week-
Yeah
those are the kind of leaders we want
that can actually listen to us, because
it's those small problems like that that
can make our lives a little bit better.
Yeah.
I really saw like a, like a, you
know, a very, like a... it was
almost like a, a thing that Florida
and New York have in common, right?
Because it's a destination state.
Yeah.
Yeah.
People wanna live in New York.
Yep.
There's a certain status
r- that comes with that.
It's aspirational.
Well, it's almost like
the same thing in Florida.
Yep.
Yeah.
People want to retire and move
to Florida and get that house
by the beach- Yep ... baby.
And, you know, like, that's a, that's
a, that's a, it's an Americana thing.
Yep.
So I really think that, like- You could,
you could do a lot of things with that,
'cause there's a lot of wealthy people
in Florida that wanna live right there
on the beach and, you know, and you
gotta have a little money to do that.
So they're not gonna wanna go to Alabama-
Nope ... or the Mississippi coast- Nope
to do that.
Yep.
So you gotta, I think you got a, a
built, a built-in kinda base of people
who would, who wanna live in Florida,
'cause they wanna live in Florida.
Yeah.
They wanna live on the beach and, and
that's something that I think that you
could always kinda use to your advantage.
Oh, I do.
And I do.
And I do, because like you said,
New York is a big destination
city, but so is Florida.
Um- Yeah ... we don't got snow.
Right.
People come here for the sunshine and,
and not have to s- Right ... I mean,
that's one of the reasons why I moved.
I, I just, I was tired of
shoveling snow and, you know?
Yeah.
And- I get it ... you got, you got
the beaches, you got Miami, you
got, you got all these destinations.
But now the fle- the effects of
this administration and, and, and,
and its governor, like, gas here
in Florida is the almost pr- same
price of New York normally is.
And it's like... And, and people
always complain to, "Well, New York
gas is always high." You right.
But I can stand at the corner of New
York and, and spin my head and said,
"Now what I wanna eat today?" Mm.
You can't do that in Florida, right?
And there's a different-
Right ... living lifestyle in New
York, and people pay for that.
Exactly.
It comes at a premium.
Yep.
You know?
That, that... It is the
city that never sleeps.
You can go anywhere at
any time and get anything.
Yep.
Um, and that comes at a price.
Yep.
Public transportation, right?
And public
transportation, right?
Where do we have that-
Yep ... New York City?
We don't have that in Florida.
That's something that, that a lot
of people on his campaign trail
is, is complaining about, right?
Yeah.
"I'm tired of driving."
Yeah.
I, I really am.
Especially
now with the gas prices.
I'm tired.
Mm-hmm,
yep.
You know?
It just gets more and more expensive.
Yeah.
So Ronnie, are there any issues in your
district, um, that maybe we wouldn't
know about or mainstream media isn't
talking about, but we should know about?
Like, is there something in your
district that's happening that
you wanna bring attention to or
want to remedy as, as a candidate?
Absolutely.
There's a huge flooding problem
happening- Okay ... here in Florida.
It's huge.
Um, especially in Volusia
County, Daytona Beach area.
And it's not- Uh-huh ... it don't
have nothing to do with the beach.
It's the, it's the water.
Uh, they drilling and they
building all these homes, and it's
sinking, and it's being destroyed.
Uh, we have a infrastructure problem
here, and that's- Right ... that's
contributing to all these environmental
problems that's happening.
And I think Florida is... And, you
know, every state has to build- But I
think they're building too fast- Yeah
and, and everywhere.
And our ecosystem and, and i-
it's just taking a big toll on us.
So we need to bring the environment
issue back up here in Florida because-
Mm-hmm ... like I said, these politicians
have been too focused on money and
getting, you know, recognition and
money and money and money and money
that now we have all these houses
are sitting there on swamps being...
You know, right here in Mount Dora,
that's the area I live in, they
re- after Hurricane, uh, Milton
came, the roads got destroyed.
They built those roads so fast in
three weeks, the next rainstorm, not
hurricane, not flooding, rainstorm
came and wiped it all out again.
Wow.
And now they, same thing.
They, they took away these orange
groves, built almost 200 homes, and
now a lot of them are sinking in.
And- Hmm.
Oh, really?
And, and, and, and that's because a
aquifer and all these other problems that
they didn't do a study on and... Because-
Yeah ... people don't understand that
Florida only sits on one tectonic plate.
Not like New York.
New York sits on six.
We can... That's why there's a lot of
homes in New York that have basements.
Right.
'Cause Florida don't have
a lot of basements unless
you live on top of a hill.
Yeah.
Because we can't.
We, we, we sit in that sea level.
Yeah.
And what happens if you, if you put
something at sea level, you keep
putting things on top of it, we sink.
And, and- Exactly ... you know,
this governor don't believe
in listening to scientists.
So they
gotta take- And they're just- ... it upon
themselves ... so they're just putting
Band-Aid on top of Band-Aid.
Yeah.
And, you know, and that
comes at a huge expense.
If you're not fixing the root cause,
if you're not taking care of and
addressing the underlying issues,
um, that's all the more money that
taxpayers are gonna have to contribute
for all of these Band-Aids- Yeah
because you never address what's
really causing the problems.
Yeah.
Thank you for sharing that with
us because, you know, every
district is unique, and mainstream
media's not talking about that.
Um, but because you live there-
Mm-hmm ... you have a first-hand account
of what really needs to be addressed
in your district, so I appreciate that.
Thank you.
Yeah.
We, we gotta... And there's so
much more, but I think that's
the main focus, like I said.
Yeah.
'Cause if w- we can't fix the roads
unless we get to the root of the
problem, like you just said, so.
Yep.
Yeah, I think, I think we could
talk about, you know, what green
energy could do for America and, you
know, global warming and all that.
We could talk about that for
an entire episode, right?
Yeah.
And, you know, and what I like to
say is that you don't, you don't
have to believe in global warming.
Just ask the, uh, insurance
companies in Florida- Yeah ... if
they believe in global warming.
Yeah, they do.
And they, and you'll get your
answer right there, my friend.
They do.
'Cause they got no reason
to lie to you, you know?
Yeah.
But, uh, but as much as I would like to
talk about that, I gotta, we gotta hop
into the hot topic right now that's in
Florida and really the entire country
is this redistricting that's happening.
Of course, DeSantis is trying
to redistrict your state, um,
try to wipe out, uh, Democratic
representation, uh, Black people's
representation, and, uh, and, and we're
seeing it across the entire South.
Yeah.
But in Florida, uh, I, and I wonder if
you're hearing this on the ground, the
way that they wanna try to redistrict
Florida, they may be stretching thin
some Republican-held districts just to
try to bleed them into the blue and try
to turn these, uh, districts red again.
So what are you hearing about that?
Do you think this redistricting
could possibly backfire on
DeSantis and the Republicans
given how unpopular they are right
now?
Uh, listen, I agree, and it,
it is going to backfire on him.
They already s- Ron DeSantis
signed the maps into play.
Um, it's being appealed right,
appealed right now with courts
and everything, so we don't know
for sure what's gonna happen.
But my district hasn't changed that much.
Um, as you guys know, I'm running
against Randy Fine, one of the, I
think is the worst of the worst.
I don't even know what
to call him anymore.
Um,
because he's like everything in the book.
I just sometimes pick it out of the hat.
But things like that where you have,
um, uh, a state where people believe is
red, which Florida is not a red state.
A- a- and I like to, I tell
people this every single day.
Florida only has 40.8%
registered Republicans.
Everybody else are Democrats
and left-leaning independents.
And what people don't understand
is that we just gerrymandered
in 2022 the most they can.
And now the, with these new maps, uh,
for instance, where Mike Karadolis is
at, they just took some of that area and
gave it Orange County, which come out
and vote 60 to 90% of the time on every
single election, which is a blue county.
And, uh, with people like Ron DeSantis
not being popular, Donald Trump is very
unpopular, and Randy Fine is totally
unpopular, my district is now flippable.
And, and with my background in
law enforcement, I already have
turned... I have these petitions here.
I already got 400 of them signed
by registered Republicans.
Wow.
400 of them.
And- Good for you ... yeah.
And I, I, I was the first- That's
amazing ... candidate in the state
of Florida to be, uh, uh, uh, on the
ballot by petitions between all parties.
And because we have a good
strong movement coming.
I got Republicans volunteering on
my campaign right now because- I
mean, y- you can make them put their
mon- their money where their mouth is.
If you back the blue-
Yeah.
Give me my- Right?
And exactly, 'cause a lot of them
was just misinformed about our party.
They just listening to Fox when,
when I approach them, they're
like, "You guys hate cops.
You guys love crime, and you hate...
You're trying to take away our
guns." And then when I tell them my
background, they be like, "Really?"
"Oh,
okay." Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
On top of that, I have five children,
and I s- I got, I got guns in my house.
It's just I want my child to
come home at the end of the day.
You get what I'm saying?
Yeah, yeah.
So with this redistricting thing, I 100%
believe, um, that it's gonna backfire.
I even went to the point where I
told, uh, somebody in the Florida
Democratic Party, up, up their head.
I've been like, "I wouldn't even
fight this in court. I would let
it go, let it go through." Right?
Listen, we gotta fight- Do
it ... listen- Please do it.
Let them do it because it's
going to backfire on them
way worse than they imagine.
And now, uh, we're
getting like, "Oh, okay.
Now we gotta start throwing a lot
of money into these races now.
Uh, we, we, we messed up." You got
grassroot people with, with a background
in law enforcement, EMS, somebody like
me w- who, who's Black and Latino.
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Right?
And, and guess who the people this
administration is now targeting the most
that's gonna turn up on these midterms?
Black and Latinos, right?
Yeah.
We can flip these midterms.
That's who made Obama win two times
this state, the Black and Latino vote.
And now what Trump has done with these
ICE things, as a former law enforcement,
abolish ICE, I'm saying that right now.
Abolish them.
But they, he done made the Latino
community in this state mad,
and guess who run this state?
So definitely, definitely flippable, and,
and I can't wait to show them in November
that we're gonna take back this state.
Man, that, that would just be
the... So much poetic justice.
If they were to do this and actually
end up losing more seats than they think
they're gonna gain- Mm-hmm ... and, and
I tell peop- and I've been telling people
all week, like, look, they can try to
gerrymander these little 12, 13 seats.
That's not gonna stop them from this blue
tsunami- Yep ... that's coming across.
Yep, yep.
Listen, we just flipped Mar-A-Lago,
and it wasn't even- Yeah.
... it wasn't even- Yeah.
Sure enough ... so imagine
when midterms come where you,
you got, you got a big push.
It's, it's gonna be a great time
for the Democrats in November.
So- Love
it
...
you know, I, obviously I think
it's amazing that you're getting
Republican signatures, right?
Um, on petitions on, for the ballot.
What- Uh, if there's... I'm sure
there's a lot of people that you
run into that disagree with you
politically or are really scared
about the idea of progressive
policies and progressive politics.
What are some of the other ways that
you're making connections with people
in Florida that m- might, you know,
be politically completely different
than where you're coming from?
So
you n- you are not gonna
change a far right MAGA's mind.
Sure.
Um, so we have two ways
we're attacking this.
Me, my campaign, we are praying
Randy Fine win- wins this primary.
Like, we want that to happen.
Mm. 'Cause that will help us basically.
Mm-hmm.
I mean, just straight off
the bat that will help us.
Um, the way we deal with the far right,
and I got two, two parts to this.
The way we deal with the far rights
is, uh, we try to talk to them, uh,
get to them by explaining to them my
background, 'cause usually we connect
'cause of law enforcement, right?
Yeah.
A lot of people think... A lot of
them think Democrats are not law
enforcement, so we connect with there.
Mm-hmm.
Um, I can tell you that some of them I
can't change their mind, but what I can
say is majority of them say, "Oh, that
guy Randy Fine, he's a piece of crap.
I'm not voting for him." I said, "Okay."
Yeah.
Yeah, so what does it mean?
Because if they're not gonna
vote for Randy Fine, that's
the vote for Ronnie, right?
Yeah.
Um, so those are far rights.
Now, when you get to the moderates and
the kind of okay people, talk to them.
I go, I go to places where
a politician haven't been in
many, many, many, many of years.
Mm. I go to the low income projects.
I walk into the woods to knock on that
trailer home and just put my face to their
eyes and be like, "Listen, I know we're
not the same party, but what can I do to
help you?" Mm. "Just give me one thing.
If, if, if, if, you can, if you
can tell a Democrat right now
what can we do to help you."
And of course they'll say
it's this far right idea.
I'll be like, "Okay, I maybe can't
do that, but how, how about we meet
somewhere in the middle?" Yeah.
"Uh, you give me this and I'll give
you this. Maybe that can work." And,
and you... People don't understand
how surprisingly it would be where
we actually agree on a lot of things.
It's just the way they're
being told about those things.
I tell people I've been in law
enforcement for almost, uh, 10
years, since I came down to Florida.
I never pepper sprayed anybody.
I never tased anybody.
I never shot anybody.
99% of the people that we encounter is an
underlying issue that the government could
fix if they really cared about people.
People, you know, yeah, you're gonna
always have that 1% that's doing it for
fun and gangs and all that stuff, but
when you got people stealing food and
stuff from Walmart to resell and, and-
You, if you go to the deeper issue,
it's they were doing it to pay their
rent or pay their gas- Yeah ... you
know, or, or, you know- Mm-hmm
those are things the government was
made to help them with, where in the
state of Florida, you, you don't get
that much help as New York helps you.
Right.
And, um, or mental illness, right?
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
You, you know, if you cared about
mental illness, 90% of these criminals
has a underlying, underlying mental
issue that they should not be in jail.
They should be getting
mental medical help.
And, and- Absolutely ... and in Florida,
which is what's surprising to me, is that
law enforcement is the ones that decide
if somebody needs mental help or not.
And we only get three days of training
in the police academy for that.
Three days.
In, in New York, when I was in EMS,
we decided that as a, a medical
professional under the license- Mm-hmm
of a doctor where we
got months of training.
And so there's so much that we
can do, but people are seeing it.
They are connecting.
Um, I, I do things and I, I, I look
at people as people, not as red,
not as blue, and not an independent.
You are a person- Right ... that
needs help somewhere.
Let me help you.
And that's, that's what usually connects
me to the Republican Party, that, "Oh,
wow, there's a Democrat that actually
care about not his party," because I tell
them, "I hate my party sometimes too."
Uh, there's stuff-
Yeah ... I don't agree on.
Yeah.
I, I, I don't agree with them.
And for them to hear that is that, "Wow,
okay. Now we're talking." And that's
what usually get them to clicking.
That's how I got a lot of them to just
say, you know, "This guy's really great.
Let me just... He really cares- Yeah
... about just me, not being a Democrat."
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
I lo- I love that you approach it that
way because, like, we are really living
in a time where people are just desperate.
Yeah.
And desperation-
Yeah ... drives people to crime.
Yep.
Yeah.
Mental illness drives people to crime.
Yep.
Like, you know, like things that,
like, like you said- Yep ... could be
easily fixed by the government- Yep
if we would just change our priorities.
Yep.
I mean, there's billions of dollars
out there that are going to the
top 500,000 companies, and it
doesn't even happen like that.
Yeah.
I mean, if- Well- ... if we could
reinvest in our own people, I think
we would see a revolution in crime.
Absolutely.
I
agree.
And it, and it works.
I'm, I'm, I'm a, I'm a, I'm
a, I'm proof that it works.
Um, I worked the EMS and law enforcement
where we have some kind of recidivism
program to make sure people don't go
back into, um... in Mount Dora and
in Sumter County where I work that
they have that program, and I'm a
proof that it works if we put enough
time and effort into somebody instead
of saying, "You're a lost cause."
Yeah.
Mm. Yeah.
Love that.
So one question we ask, um, as we wind
things down, 'cause I wanna make sure
you have more time with your wife.
We are recording this on Mother's Day-
Yeah ... and you've got five children,
so, um, mama needs a break, and we
wanna make sure- Mm ... she gets it.
Um- We ask this of every candidate.
We know the answer, but we
want you to say it out loud.
Uh, Rodney, do you accept
any corporate PAC money?
Oh, no.
Any AIPAC or foreign interest money?
Nope.
You are grassroots through and through.
Through and through.
I mean, listen, I don't know how
people can accept AIPAC money.
It's just what's happened- Yeah
that genocide that's happened over
there, how can you not have a heart?
I don't care what country you from,
it's children, innocent people.
So yeah, we all allow for that.
Yeah.
Love that.
Um, okay, so before I hand it over
to Seth for final words, when your
campaign is over, win or lose,
what do you want your community...
Like, what's one thing you want
the people in your dist- your
district to know that you stand for?
I- If you could pick one thing.
I... What do I stand for?
I stand for the people.
Like, it, it, it's just, like,
my whole life, you know, has been
dedicated to serving others and
giving back to the community.
And I even told my Democratic
opponent that if he wins the
primary, I'm helping him out, right?
Um- Right ... and because it's,
it's that kinda atmosphere that we
shouldn't be fighting with each other.
It's really for the people.
And, and, and even after
this, I'm not gonna give up.
I- Yeah ... I'll probably run
again next year or, you know, a
special election come because I'm,
I'm wanted and needed somewhere.
And wherever God- Yeah ... choose
that path for me, I'm there.
So I'm just a people person through
and through, wherever I can help
at, 'cause even before this, I was
a s- youth football coach for my
son's football team, volunteering.
Like, I just, wherever I'm needed and
I can spare the extra time, I am there.
So just, I just want the people to
know that even if I lose this election,
primaries or the general, you're not
gonna stop seeing me like some other
politicians or other candidates,
'cause I'm gonna still be active in my
community all over Florida because this
campaign, I have built a great platform.
I'm getting so many views.
I, I'm pushing, like, s- 5 to 7
million views a month on Threads.
And it's like- Ooh ... I,
I met so many good people.
I met Kathy Griffin and Steve
Hofstetter, like, all these good
networking people that I just-
Mm-hmm ... can't let go to waste.
Yeah.
Yeah
Right?
So that's why Love it.
Love it.
That's great, Ronnie And that's, yeah.
Yeah, man.
That's the... And that's a great thing
to hear, man, 'cause obviously I looked
on your website when I was, you know,
uh, researching you, and I mean, it was
just very obvious that you're, you're
very ingrained in your community.
You know, you got a, you
got a big, beautiful family.
Yeah.
Uh, and you wanna s- and
you wanna see them do well.
You wanna see your kids do well.
And, and that, and that all comes down
to the community that you're rooted
in, 'cause it, y- 'cause it does take
a village to, to raise kids like that.
Yeah.
And, you know, I'm just so glad that
a guy like you is running in, in
Florida, a place where we badly need
people who can reach across the aisle.
Yeah.
And I'm just glad that you're, you're the
type of guy that can, that can do that.
Yeah.
But you, but you've got
your, your priorities.
Yeah.
We g- we gonna
do it.
We're gonna do it.
So before we go, um, Ronnie,
where can people find you?
What's your campaign website?
Are you on all the socials?
How can, how can people connect
with you and support you?
Yeah.
Listen, I, I, I'm out there.
You can just type my name in Google
right now and it pops up anything.
Um, but yeah, my website
is ron4congress.com.
It's Ron- Okay ... the number
4 congress.com, all one word.
Okay.
Or if you got social medias, it's
gonna be Ron4Congress, F-O-R.
On all the social medias, it's the same.
It's just that, you know, somebody
already took the FOR website, so
I had to- Got it ... recreate it.
But I'm everywhere.
My team always answers.
If you ever got a question or
anything, please reach out.
Awesome.
Well, this was such a pleasure, Ronnie.
Thank you.
I mean, you're, you're,
you're a real one, you know?
And I, I'm not surprised, because you
were born and raised in New York City.
That's right.
And, um- It's a big place ... you
know you take that with you wherever
you go for the rest of your life.
Yep.
And that's why you're finding your way
into these underrepresented, underserved
communities, and feeling comfortable
reaching out to those people, and that's
just so, that's just so what we need- Yeah
in our politics and in, from
our politicians these days.
So thank you so much for
coming on Left Out Loud today.
Thank you for
having me.
Absolutely.
We wish you the best of luck, and we
say this to everyone that comes on.
You're a friend of the show now.
If you need anything, if
you need a push- All right
you know, you come back.
Always come back, and we're happy, happy
to do whatever we can- Yeah ... uh,
to get you to win that primary.
Yeah, we gonna do a definitely another
one of these right after we win.
Yeah.
For you.
Oh, for sure.
Hey, let's go.
For sure, Ronnie.
Let's go, man.
You send me that email be like, "You won.
Let's do it."
Yes, absolutely.
It's on.
Of
course.
It's on.
And you guys got my contact information.
If you guys ever need me-
Yes ... I'm here for you.
Thank you, Ronnie.
Appreciate you so much, man.
Welcome.
Great... You know, best of luck.
Thank you.
And big, beautiful, bright future
ahead of you, no matter what happens.
But we're rooting for you.
I think, I think big things
are gonna come your way.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Good luck to you, Ronnie.
Thank you.
All right.
Bye bye.
Bye.
Great.
Hey, Ally.
Hey, Seth
So today, uh, we got to talk
to Ronnie Merchenson-Rivera,
and I mean, what a great guy.
Could tell that he was super rooted in his
community, has his priorities in order.
And I mean, so excited that a guy
like him is running in Florida.
Me too.
I mean, that's what Florida needs.
You know, he was born in Br- and
raised in New York City, and he's
brought all of that sort of grit and
determination with him into Florida.
Mm. He's really made h- uh, a lot of
headway, you know, creating connection
in his community, especially as
someone working in law enforcement.
And he's just got it, you know?
He's doing this for the right reasons.
That's so, um, so evident to me, and I'm
sure to you just through talking with him.
And, uh, yeah, great candidate.
Really rooting for him.
Yeah.
And obviously progressive grassroots guy.
The kinda gu- people that we
need in Congress right now.
Uh, and it was really, uh, very, uh,
encouraging what he was saying about the
redistricting- Yeah ... possibility in
Florida, and how that may be something
that the Republicans might wanna rethink.
You know, they, uh, they're always
laying the traps for themselves.
First the SAVE Act- Yeah ... and now this.
So, uh, you know, uh, it's great
that he's there, and he's a guy that
can reach across the aisle, right?
Yeah.
Like, he's the kinda guy that we can, that
can go in there and flip a red district.
So- Exactly ... love Ronnie.
Oh, Republicans, oh, what a tangled web we
weave with all of this redistricting- And
first refactors to the sea ... and unrest.
Yeah.
So, uh- Yeah ... you know, we're
gonna see how that plays out.
But I feel like Ronnie's the right guy
at the right time, um, i- in, in the
perfect district to really benefit from
somebody with just real everyday working
American ideas for making Florida better.
And, um, we're gonna root for him.
His primary is in August.
Seth, you and I have a poop
ton of interviews coming up
over these next two weeks.
Yeah, we do.
So many.
Um, exciting, really exciting time.
We have something else big
coming m- maybe in late June.
We're superstitious, so we're
not gonna get into that- Yeah
too much, but we have been invited
to cover an event and sit down with
a candidate who- I think by now you
all know who we're talking about.
Yeah.
But again, superstitious.
We'll bring more to you once those event
dates are finalized and we know exactly
when we will be going to do all of that.
Extremely exciting.
Um, but for now- And
then, our folks are gonna love it.
Oh.
Our people are gonna love it.
Yeah.
So get excited, folks.
Get
excited.
Remem-
we're working on something big.
Big,
big, big deal.
Okay.
So I'm not gonna... Let's, let's cut
it because we're right back at this
tomorrow, Seth, and I think on Tuesday
we have two back to back interviews,
so it's gonna be a crazy week.
Let's go.
Um, but, you know, this is, this is
why we love doing this, so people
get to know people like Ronnie.
So I will see you again,
Seth, tomorrow already.
Right.
You bet.
Bye.
Later.