Former Trump supporter Lev Parnas among candidates running as Democrat in South Florida's District 27

South Florida voters will decide between several Democrat candidates in the primary for District 27 this August.

They're all hoping to replace Republican Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar.

Lev Parnas is the latest democrat to throw his name into the fray, and it's a name that many may associate with President Donald Trump.

"I'm not a politician. I don't have loyalty to any real hardcore party," Parnas told CBS News Miami. "I'm standing up for the people, standing up to actually draining the swamp, getting rid of this corruption, because I've seen it firsthand."

Parnas was a supporter of President Trump's first run for office in 2016. In his book, "Shadow Diplomacy" he described himself as an "operative" for Trump's campaign.

"As somebody that was part of Trump's first administration, that was part of seeing his shadow diplomacy, being a part of it, seeing all the corruption, seeing how things were dealt, I think I'm the only one qualified enough to be able to make change happen once you get into Congress," he said.

Parnas describes Trump's circle as a "cult", and says incumbent Salazar is part of it.

That's why, he says, he's running in District 27, even though he doesn't live there – which is not a requirement to hold the office.

"Why that district is so important to me is because like many people in my district, constituents like myself came from a place, a dictatorship, authoritarianism, like myself from the Soviet Union," he said. "And we all have one thing in common. We know we want freedom."

He's lost that freedom before.

Parnas – a former business associate of Rudy Giuliani – was sentenced to twenty months in prison for fraud and campaign finance crimes.

The charges involved funneling foreign money into U.S. political campaigns to gain influence.

When asked if he had regrets, he said "absolutely."

"I have major regrets because I almost lost my family. I almost lost my kids, my wife. I did lose my freedom," he said. "Working 50 years growing up in a country where I've never gotten in trouble in my life. "Yes, I have a very interesting past, but never got in trouble, never got arrested. And here I am working for the president of the United States, and here I am now. I'm a convicted felon. You know, but I guess we live in a different world because look, the president of the United States is a convicted felon, 34 counts. I only have 5. He has 34, so it's not that bad."

Parnas was actually convicted on six counts in that case.

As far as policies, Parnas says he also wants to rein in high prices and create commonsense immigration reform.

"Our district needs a fighter," he said. "Our district needs somebody that's going to come in there and fight for what not one side or the other side needs, not down ballot, but what our community needs."

He's running against former CBS News Miami anchor Eliott Rodriguez, businessman Richard Lamondin and former prosecutor Robin Peguero.

When asked why voters should trust him, Parnas had this to say:

"Speaking truth to power is one of the strongest and toughest things to do. To come out of a cult, come out of a situation and be able to turn your life around, disconnect from everything you've known over the years and be able to do the one thing that people in Congress don't know how to do today, which is take accountability, and that's something that I did when I got arrested. I took accountability for my faults and I paid the price for it by speaking truth to power."

The primary is set for August 18th.