These six South Florida House seats will be decided in Tuesday’s primary

A half-dozen South Florida House races will be decided Tuesday night. All six of those races feature Democrats. That means the winner of the Primary Election will determine the seat-holder, as there will be no challenger in the General Election.

House District 94

Democratic Rep. Bobby DuBose won the HD 94 seat in 2014. He’s gunning for a final two-year term before facing the state’s eight-year term limit.

Challenging DuBose is 21-year-old Elijah Manley, who has framed himself as a progressive in the race.

Manley ran for a Broward County School Board seat at just 19 years old. He earned less than 19% of the vote, placing third. Last year, Manley also launched a stunt candidacy for President as a socialist candidate, despite the Constitution requiring presidential candidates to be at least 35 years old. He eventually halted that effort.

DuBose is a former Chair of the Broward County legislative delegation. He emerged from a two-person Democratic primary in 2014 to take the seat. DuBose faced no primary challenge in either 2016 or 2018 and has never faced a general election opponent in the deep-blue district.

DuBose is the likely favorite here, though without any recent challenges it’s difficult to say how much support Manley could peel off.

Manley is fighting an uphill battle in terms of money. He raised around $35,000 for his bid. That’s less than a third of DuBose’s total, which exceeded $110,000.

HD 94 covers parts of Broward County including Fort Lauderdale, Plantation and Wilton Manors.

House District 95

Like HD 94, this district features a left-leaning challenger attempting to unseat an incumbent.

Rep. Anika Omphroy currently holds the seat. She’s less tenured than DuBose, having served just one term in the House after winning the seat in 2018.

Omphroy has faced criticism from the left, however. Ruth’s List Florida endorsed Omphroy’s primary opponent, Jasmen Rogers-Shaw. That endorsement was motivated in part by Omphroy’s vote in favor of a bill requiring minors to obtain parental consent — with some exceptions — before undergoing an abortion.

Ruth’s List Florida backs Democratic women candidates who support abortion rights.

The Florida Medical Association’s PAC saw things differently, backing Omphroy in the contest.

Rogers-Shaw has highlighted her progressive bona fides after working as a staffer on Elizabeth Warren‘s 2020 presidential campaign. She’s also easily outraised Omphroy in the primary contest, despite joining the race in April.

Through July 31, Rogers-Shaw added more than $96,000. Omphroy, meanwhile, raised around $57,000.

HD 95 runs through portions of Broward County including North Lauderdale, Sunrise and Lauderhill.

House District 102

The HD 102 contest is a four-way battle on the Democratic side. The winner will replace Democratic Rep. Sharon Pritchett, who is term-limited.

Former Miami Gardens Council member Felicia Robinson has been the top fundraiser in the contest, raising more than $65,000 through July 31.

David Williams Jr., who currently serves on the Miami Gardens City Council, has placed second to Robinson with $44,000 raised.

Those two appear to be the favorites in the contest, with Robinson securing support from Sen. Oscar Braynon II, whose district overlaps with HD 102. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel endorsed Williams.

Matthew Tisdol, who ran for the House District 104 seat in 2010, is well behind the top two fundraisers in the contest. He’s added just $16,000 through the end of July.

Trailing the pack is former Miramar City Commission candidate Dennis Hinds, who has raised only $4,100.

The district spans Broward and Miami-Dade counties, covering parts of Pembroke Pines and Miami Gardens.

House District 107

Democratic Rep. Barbara Watson is barred from seeking reelection in HD 107 due to term limits, leaving the seat open in 2020.

Despite the chance to secure an open seat, only two candidates qualified for the contest. The race has also attracted some of the lowest fundraising totals in the region.

Lawyer Christopher Benjamin is battling former Miami Gardens Councilman Ulysses “Buck” Harvard for the seat. Both hail from the district, which covers areas in Miami-Dade County such as Miami Gardens and Golden Glades.

Benjamin was the better fundraiser of the two, adding nearly $39,000 in outside cash, plus another $1,000 in loans as of July 31. Harvard managed to court just $15,000.

House District 108

This contest features former HD 108 Rep. Roy Hardemon seeking to reclaim the seat after he was ousted in 2018 by now-Rep. Dotie Joseph.

Rep. Joseph defeated Hardemon and Joseph Beauvil in 2018 in a three-way primary. Joseph earned 49.3% of the vote, a near majority. Hardemon courted just 36.1%.

This year also features a three-way contest between Joseph, Hardemon and psychotherapist Georges Bossous Jr.

This time, Joseph has the incumbency advantage along with a whole lot of cash. Joseph had raised nearly $179,000 as of July 31. Bossous, meanwhile, has raised less than $9,000 while Hardemon added only $6,300 during the campaign.

With Joseph having already ousted Hardemon in 2018, he’ll face an even more difficult path this time around.

House District 117

The final South Florida contest to be decided Tuesday will determine a successor for House Democratic Leader Kionne McGhee.

McGhee is seeking a Miami-Dade County Commission seat after facing term limits in the House.

Kevin Chambliss has been the best fundraiser in the contest, adding more than $37,100 through July 31. He’s also earned the most party support, securing endorsements from Democratic U.S. Reps. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell and Donna Shalala.

That’s in part due to Chambliss previously working for both members of Congress, as well as a spate of other South Florida politicians. His most recent gig was as a community liaison for Miami-Dade County Commissioner Dennis Moss. Chambliss also worked on Joe Garcia‘s 2012 congressional campaign.

Jessica Laguerre Hylton is a former teacher who founded a nonprofit to help young Black girls become business owners. She joined the race late, just ahead of the state’s June 12 qualifying deadline, and has added around $9,000 in cash.

Harold Ford is a minister who ran for the HD 117 seat back in 2012. He lost to McGhee, who went on to represent the district for eight years. Ford hasn’t raised much since joining the race last September. He’s added less than $1,800 in outside cash and another $2,500 in loans.

The district runs through southern portions of Miami-Dade County including Florida City and Naranja.