Drew Wilson
Republican HD 115 candidate Vance Aloupis added another $10,175 to his campaign account last month, maintaining his lead in the three-way primary race to take over for term-limited Republican Rep. Michael Bileca.
Aloupis’ October fundraising report shows him with a to-date fundraising total of $192,634. It also showed $2,036 in spending, leaving him with $173,640 on hand heading into November.
The Miami Republicans’ donor roll included $1,000 checks from AT&T South Florida and Publix Super Markets VP Hoyt Barnett and his wife Carol Barnett, the daughter of Publix founder George Jenkins.
Expenditures included a $1,450 payment to Flagler Strategy Group for printing services and a few small expenses related to campaign travel, website hosting and fees for credit card contributions.
Aloupis faces Carlos Gobel, Rhonda Rebman-Lopez and Carmen Sotomayor in the Republican Primary, and neither Gobel nor Sotomayor have shown much in the way of fundraising.
Rebman-Lopez, however, is becoming more competitive largely due to her tossing $36,800 of her own money.
In the five months since she filed for the seat, she’s raised $48,429 in contributions and spent just $3,309. When the loans are added in, she has $80,920 in the bank.
Her October numbers included $9,425 in contributions, $800 in loans, and $1,000 in spending. Among her donors last month were Doral caterer Ben Fox, and Hialeah car dealer Gus Machado and his wife Lilia Machado.
Also running for HD 115 are Democrats James Schulman and Jeffrey Solomon.
Schulman raised $25 last month and spent $324, putting him at $3,241 after six months in the race. Solomon tacked on $3,075 and spent $2,040 for an on hand total of $4,813 through five months.
HD 115 covers an inland strip of Miami-Dade County, including parts of Pinecrest, South Miami and Palmetto Bay.
The majority Hispanic district has a Republican lean, and Bileca has had no trouble holding on to the seat against Democratic challengers, winning his most recent re-election campaign with about 54 percent of the vote.
