Ryan Nicol- 2020 election
- A Bolder Florida
- Anitere Flores
- Anthony Rodriguez
- Conservatives for a Better Florida
- Daniel Perez
- Demi Busatta Cabrera
- Florida House
- Floridians for Strong Leadership
- fundraising
- HD 114
- House District 114
- Javier Fernandez
- Jean-Pierre Bado
- Michael Hepburn
- Ron Book
- Sunshine State Conservatives
- Travis Hutson
Republican candidate Demi Busatta Cabrera pulled in more than $56,000 in December as she seeks to replace Democratic state Rep. Javier Fernández in House District 114.
Busatta Cabrera entered the contest in early December and blew away her opponents in terms of fundraising in her first month as a candidate.
Democrats Jean-Pierre Bado and Michael Hepburn are also competing in HD 114.
Bado collected just $2,000 in December, giving him more than $14,000 raised since joining the race in November. Hepburn, meanwhile, added less than $900 in his first month as a candidate for HD 114.
Hepburn had originally sought a rematch against U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala in Florida’s 27th Congressional District. The two competed for the Democratic nomination in CD 27 in 2018. Hepburn eventually swapped over to run for state House instead.
Busatta Cabrera is seeking to make her mark on the contest as Republicans seek to flip the open seat.
Busatta Cabrera courted money from several political committees tied to Republican legislators. She received a maxed-out $1,000 contribution from state Sen. Travis Hutson‘s PC, Sunshine State Conservatives. Conservatives for a Better Florida, backed by state Rep. Daniel Perez, and A Bolder Florida, a committee backed by state Rep. Anthony Rodriguez, also contributed $1,000 each.
State Sen. Anitere Flores‘ PC, Floridians for Strong Leadership, also added $1,000 to Busatta Cabrera’s bid. Busatta Cabrera worked as a legislative assistant for Flores prior to running for office herself.
Lobbyist Ron Book also sent $1,000 to Busatta Cabrera’s campaign both individually and through his law firm.
In a 2018 special election, Fernández took the HD 114 seat with a 5-point win over Republican Andrew Vargas. Six months later, Fernandez defeated attorney Javier Enriquez by 6 percentage points, earning Fernandez his first full term.
That implies a Democratic lean for the district, which covers parts of Miami-Dade County including West Miami and Cutler Bay. But if Busatta Cabrera’s fundraising continues outpacing the competition by this margin, Republican could have hope to turn the seat red in 2020.
