Drew Wilson
Hialeah Republican Rep. Manny Diaz Jr. is holding a fundraiser May 15 in Coral Gables for his bid to succeed termed-out Sen. Rene Garcia in Senate District 36.
The campaign fundraiser will be held at The Aragon Room of The Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Ave., starting at 5 p.m. Would-be attendees can send the campaign an RSVP by emailing Danny Martinez at [email protected] or by giving him a ring at 786-222-7449.
Unlike Diaz’ previous fundraiser, the host committee for The Biltmore fundraiser only includes three names. But they’re big ones: Senate President Joe Negron, Senate President Bill Galvano and Senate Majority Leader Wilton Simpson.
Currently, Coral Springs Democrat Muhammad Amin is the only candidate challenging Diaz for the Miami-Dade County Senate seat, though there has been chatter former county Mayor Alex Penelas could enter the race.
If he does, he’ll have a lot of catching up to do in the money race.
Through the end of March, Diaz had more than $243,000 on hand between his campaign account and a political committee he chairs. And if his first Senate campaign fundraiser is any indication, he could add a bundle more next week.
SD 36 includes the HD 103 territory Diaz currently represents and extends a bit further east into HD 110, currently represented by incoming House Speaker Jose Oliva.
Republicans have a 3-point advantage in voter registrations within the district, though Hillary Clinton carried the seat by 14 points in 2016, the same day Garcia cruised by underfunded Democrat Anabella Grohoski Peralta with a 10-point win.
Diaz’ invitation is below.
