Conservative writer and activist Marielena Montesino de Stuart entered the increasingly crowded Republican primary Monday to take on Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012.

Born in Cuba, her family fled from Fidel Castro’s communist regime in the late 1960s after standing against that tyrannical government. Stuart, whose writings have regularly appeared on conservative website RenewAmerica, currently lives in Ave Maria.

“I consider myself to be the conservative candidate in this race,” Stuart told Sunshine State News on Monday.

The new candidate pointed to her fight against Jackson Lab, a company pro-lifers maintain has backed medical eugenics and is looking to establish a facility in Collier County, as well as her record as a home-schooling mother as proof of her “solid, uncompromising” conservative beliefs.

“My candidacy is about the U.S. government -- where we’re going, how to represent Floridians to ensure their constitutional rights will be protected,” Stuart told Sunshine State News. “It’s about the economy, to stop federal spending.”

Stuart made no apologies for her opposition to abortion and the role of religion in public life.

“I don’t like what I see happening to our beloved country,” insisted Stuart. “My candidacy is in part a response to the great challenge before us. America stands at the raw edge of a great precipice. We see an ever-expanding impersonal government that spends money it does not have, and passes laws that are blind to the Lawgiver. It is devouring all that is good and honorable. 

“I pledge to do my utmost to take any and all actions directed at curbing this nation’s current fiscal crisis. I will strive to articulate the economic needs of Floridians within the framework of a smaller government that supports private-sector growth, job creation and lower taxes,” added Stuart. “Florida is a state blessed by God in so many ways. Not just for its beauty and natural resources, but more importantly, for its wonderful people -- many of whom have come to America, like my family did, in search of freedom from tyranny and want. In search of a dream for themselves and their families. They deserve representatives that will defend their constitutional rights.”

Stuart praised the traditional family and the role of religion in the public square while taking aim at a “bloated federal government” that demands too many taxes and takes away Americans' “sacred rights, including the right to life, which is granted to them by God -- and secured by our Constitution.

“The family, which is the building block and foundation for a civilized society, is under attack,” Stuart insisted. “The family existed from man’s beginning -- before the creation of the state and the church. We need to support legislation that is pro-family -- and vigorously oppose legislation that endangers the family.”

Stuart vowed to defend the Second Amendment, secure the border and help fight against the federal health-care law backed by President Barack Obama. She promised to fight against abortion.

“The killing of innocent human life is destroying our society -- not just morally, but economically as well,” Stuart opined. “Unless we stop this slaughter of innocents, our nation is doomed.”

While Stuart remains a major underdog to win the Republican nomination, she did start her campaign with the backing of a prominent figure -- former U.S. Rep. Bob Dornan, the feisty California congressman who fought for conservative values for two decades in Congress and ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1996.