Drew Wilson
Palm Bay Republican Rep. Randy Fine has drawn another Democratic challenger as he goes for a second term in Brevard County-based House District 53.
FiorD’Aliza Frias, also of Palm Bay, filed for the seat on Friday, joining West Melbourne Democrat Phil Moore in the primary race.
Fine had raised more than $120,000 and had nearly $100,000 in the bank for his re-election campaign as of April 30, with another $41,000 on hand for his political committee, Foundation for our Children’s Future.
Moore, who filed in January, had raised 10,339 trough the same date and had about $7,000 banked.
HD 53 covers southern Brevard County, including the communities of Grant-Valkaria, June Park, Malabar, Micco, Palm Bay and West Melbourne.
Though Republican voters only outnumber Democratic ones by a slim margin, the seat tilts heavily toward the GOP. Fine was elected to the House in 2016, winning with about 57 percent of the vote over Democrat David Kearns.
Prior to his election, the seat was held by former Republican Rep. John Tobia. He won his 2012 re-election campaign over Democrat John Paul Alvarez by 5 points and in 2014 he took 56 percent of the vote in a three-way race against Kearns and Democrat Santa Isabel Wright.
