Former Republican rival Alexandria Suarez backs Jim Mooney in HD 120

Former Republican candidate Alexandria Suarez is endorsing Jim Mooney in the open contest for the House District 120 seat.

Mooney secured the Republican nomination on Aug. 18, narrowly topping Rhonda Rebman Lopez, 35%-34%. Suarez placed third, earning 30% of the vote.

In a statement first reported in Wednesday’s Sunburn, Suarez now says she’s endorsing Mooney ahead of the Nov. 3 General Election.

“Jim Mooney is a public servant and man of high ethical standards,” Suarez said. “Jim has been a long-time resident of the Keys who has served our community well and I believe he will do a great job for us in Tallahassee.”

The district covers Monroe County as well as parts of southern Miami-Dade.

It’s unsurprising Suarez would align herself with her fellow Republican in the contest. The only other candidate who qualified for the General Election is Democrat Clint Barras. Barras is the vice president of business development for Two Oceans Digital. He’s also served as vice chair of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council.

Mooney has secured the support of the party proper. HD 120 Rep. Holly Raschein is term-limited, leaving the seat open in 2020. She backed Mooney in the Republican primary. So did Sen. Anitere Flores, whose Senate district covers much of the same territory as HD 120.

It’s unclear how tight Democrats can make this race in the fall. Raschein easily won reelection in 2016, defeating her Democratic opponent by nearly 15 percentage points.

That margin closed in 2018, with Raschein winning by just over 6 percentage points. Voter registration data also shows Democrats with a statistically insignificant 0.5 percentage points edge over Republicans in voter registration within the district. Come Election Day, Republicans have routinely over-performed with turnout.

Barras did net nearly $34,000 in his most recent fundraising report. But he’ll have to continue raising money to help make this race flippable. Mooney has still taken in more money overall, topping Barras by a $135,000 to $80,000 margin, though Barras holds more cash as of Sept. 4.