Peter Schorsch
Freshman Miami state Rep. Nick Duran marched toward what increasingly appears to be an easy layup of a re-election campaign, posting an impressive month of fundraising in April. Duran raised nearly $40,000 last month between his campaign and political committee, Leadership for Miami-Dade.
That leaves Duran with over six-figures on hand going into May, the last month of fundraising to be reported before Florida’s mid-June qualifying deadline for state candidates.
Duran’s likely Republican opponent, Rosy Palomino — who he comfortably defeated in 2016 — raised just over $1,000, which has been roughly her average fundraising over the last three months of reporting. Palomino’s cash-on-hand at the end of April leaves her with barely enough money to pay the $1,800 filing fee due in June.
Duran’s fundraising for April puts him second only to Rep. Margaret Good among Democrats. Good was recently elected in a special election for HD 72 that will be one of the most hotly contested House seats in November.
In his first two sessions in Tallahassee, Rep. Duran has quickly developed a reputation as a thoughtful, policy-oriented legislator, with a uniquely credible voice on health care and opiate response issues.
Before Sen. José Javier Rodriguez’s exit from the race for Florida’s 27th Congressional District, Duran was widely anticipated to be the Democratic candidate to replace JJR in the case he resigned. Indeed, Duran’s first major post-session fundraiser included as “co-chairs” Sens. Oscar Braynon and Audrey Gibson, respectively, the just-previous and current Senate Democratic leaders (as well as many of his fellow House members, including the Democratic leaders).
So despite not getting his shot at moving to the upper chamber in 2018, Duran seems well positioned for a glide path to re-election. And if his continued fundraising prowess is any measure (hint: it is) Duran will be a force to be reckoned with in Miami politics for the foreseeable future.
