Spencer Fordin
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Joe Martinez is the runaway leader in fundraising as he seeks reelection to the Miami-Dade County Commission.
Martinez, who represents District 11, has raised $215,575 and spent $34,177 so far, leaving $181,398.
Former Rep. Robert Asencio has raised $17,665 in his bid to unseat Martinez, and he has spent $13,073 of it. Asencio, who lost a race for reelection in Florida’s House District 118 in 2018, has just $4,592 left on hand.
Asencio also has a political action committee, Alliance for Prosperity, that has raised $100,900 and spent $99,013.
The third candidate in the district, Cristhian Mancera, has raised $3,300 and spent $3,325, putting her campaign in the red.
Martinez was first elected to the Miami-Dade County Commission in 2000, and he’s the only Commissioner to be elected twice by his peers as Chairman of the Board. He ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2014 but was defeated in the Republican primary and came back to run for the County Commission again in 2016.
Martinez won 69% of the vote, defeating Felix Lorenzo in the 2016 District 11 primary election. His daughter, Analeen Martinez, lost in the 2016 primary election for state House District.
The incumbent has received donations from 258 people at an average of $836 per donor. His campaign got much of its seed money in February,\ when he received $97,975 from 113 different donors.
Martinez raised $26,600 between June 27 and July 10 and $5,000 in the most recent filing period.
He spent $160.60 between June 27 and July 10 and $18,495 between July 11 and July 17, the most Martinez has spent in any filing period. All of that money was paid to Groundswell Strategies for consulting, direct mail, website domain and yard signs.
Asencio has received contributions from 83 donors at an average of $213 each, and he has paid more than a third of his expenditures — $4,829 — to Blue Ticket Consulting.
Asencio defeated former Rep. David Rivera by just 53 votes for a seat in HD 118 in 2016, and he lost his bid for re-election to Anthony Rodriguez by 1,254 votes in 2018.
