Drew Wilson
Democratic House District 112 candidate Nick Duran announced Tuesday that he had raised more than $60,000 in his first month in the campaign, putting him ahead of the other four candidates in the race.
“I am deeply humbled by the profound level of support our campaign received during our first 26 days on the trail,” said Duran, who filed April 4. “The people of House District 112 want a State Representative with a record of delivering results for children and families, and this kind of support shows that they trust me to do just that.”
Duran’s campaign said it brought in $60,786 during April, and barring significant expenditures that figure should put him in front of the previous money leader, Republican Michael Davey, and the other three candidates in the race.
Through March, Davey had about $22,000 on hand in his campaign account, followed by fellow Republican Rosa Palomino with about $2,400 and Democrats Antonio Diaz and Waldo Faura, who each have close to nothing in the bank.
The April numbers should make Duran, the director of the Florida Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, the de facto frontrunner in the Democratic Primary race as neither of his primary challengers is especially popular within the Miami-Dade County district.
Diaz, who filed in mid-January, is best known for a failed recall attempt against Miami Mayor Carlos Gimenez as well as a losing bid for a city commission seat. Faura, who filed at the end of March, was similarly unsuccessful in his race against HD 113 Rep. David Richardson in the Democratic Primary for that seat four years ago.
Given the nearly even split among voter registrations in HD 112, Duran and the eventual GOP nominee will need a lot more money to roll in if they hope to replace current Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez, who is running in SD 37 against incumbent Republican Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla.
