Drew Wilson
Incoming House Speaker Jose Oliva picked up another challenger in his final re-election bid for House District 110.
Hialeah Democrat Julian Eduardo Santos entered the race for the Dade County district Wednesday, setting up a primary battle with fellow Democrat Duysevi Miyar, who filed last month.
Oliva, who recently qualified for the ballot by petition, has plenty of cash on hand to stave off a challenge should either challenger make it on to the November ballot.
As of April 30, the Hialeah Republican had more than $95,000 socked away in his campaign account, with another $715,000 in the bank for his political committee, Conservative Principles for Florida.
Miyar showed no contributions in her first report, which covered the 12 days she was a candidate in April.
HD 110 carries a solid advantage for Republicans.
Oliva was first elected to the House in a 2011 special election where his only competition was a write-in candidate. He was re-elected with 100 percent of the vote in 2014 and 69 percent of the vote in 2016.
The 2016 race, Oliva’s only campaign where he faced a Democrat on Election Day, saw him defeat Democrat Carlos Puentes 55-45. During the same cycle Democrat Hillary Clinton carried the seat by about 7 points, which is consistent with a handful of other, predominantly Hispanic districts in South Florida that typically vote Republican.
