Ryan Nicol
The Hispanic Police Officers Association (HPOA) is backing Republican candidate Bibiana Potestad in the race for House District 105.
Potestad announced the endorsement Friday afternoon.
“Humbled and honored to have received the endorsement of the Hispanic Police Officer Association,” Potestad wrote in a post on Twitter.
“We must protect and defend our law enforcement the same way they protect and defend us. Thank you for trusting me with your endorsement.”
The HPOA represents public safety officers in Miami-Dade County. Potestad attended a meeting of the group Tuesday night. She is one of five candidates competing to replace current Republican Rep. Ana Maria Rodriguez.
Potestad is an attorney who formerly served as an aide to Miami-Dade County Commissioner Juan Zapata. Potestad ran in HD 119 during the 2018 cycle, losing in the Republican primary. She joined the HD 105 race in August after GOP leadership recruited Rodriguez to run in Senate District 39.
Pedro Barrios and J. David Borrero are competing against Potestad for the Republican nomination in HD 105.
Two Democrats are also running for the seat as well. Javier Estevez — who narrowly lost the seat to Rodriguez in 2018 — is running against immigration attorney Maureen Porras.
Estevez lost the general election by just 417 votes despite being heavily out-raised by Rodriguez. With the seat open once again, the 2020 contest could be another nail-biter.
The district covers parts of Miami-Dade, Broward and Collier counties.
Potestad qualified for the ballot in early February via petition. She was able to obtain the 839 signatures needed to appear on the 2020 ballot, allowing her to dodge the nearly $1,800 ballot fee.
Potestad is also leading the contest in cash on hand. She’s pulled in nearly $125,000 in the contest through January, with nearly $100,000 of that remaining.
Borrero has just over $75,000 remaining, while Estevez holds about $15,000 and Porras retains more than $11,000.
Barrios has raised less than $2,800 overall.
