Jesse Scheckner
Republican Rep. Vance Aloupis had his best fundraising month this election cycle in August, when he added $35,000 toward his 2022 bid to retain Florida House District 115.
That gain beat his previous high mark since winning reelection in November. In March, he raised $31,750.
Alopuis now has about $108,500 between his campaign and political committee, The Right Future for Florida.
No one has announced plans to run against him.
A significant chunk of his most recent haul came from trade unions. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employers, a frequent donor with several affiliate and local chapters throughout Florida, gave Aloupis $5,000.
The Florida Education Association and United Faculty of Miami Dade College gave $2,500 apiece.
Aloupis’ one big expenditure, a $1,000 check, went to HD 67 Rep. Chris Latvala, who told Florida Politics this month he was considering challenging fellow Republican, Pinellas County Commissioner Dave Eggers next year.
On his fundraising ledger, Aloupis listed “Pinellas County” as the purpose for his gift to Latvala.
Aloupis is the CEO of The Children’s Movement of Florida, a nonprofit that advocates for early learning, child aid and parental support across the state. Appropriately, his other $5,000 gift last month came from Florida’s Voice for Early Learners, a political action committee run by the Florida Association of Child Care Management.
Both Aloupis’ group and the FACCM are part of the Early Learning Consortium, which describes itself as “a state partners advocacy group with the established commitment to (ensuring) that Florida’s early learning system is high quality and affordable, is accountable and equitable for providers, affords informed parental choice, ensures competent teachers, and imposes no unfunded mandates to achieve (a) shared vision of success for Florida’s children.”
Children’s Movement President Madeleine Thakur is the current chair of the consortium.
HD 115 covers parts of Miami-Dade County’s unincorporated area, including Kendall, Glenvar Heights and Westchester, as well as Doral, Miami, South Miami, Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay.
Voters in the district appear to favor the GOP, having previously elected Republican Michael Bileca to represent them there until 2018, when he reached term limits.
That November, Aloupis beat Democrat Jeffrey Solomon by a 1-percentage-point margin to succeed Bileca. Two years later, he defeated Democrat Franccesca Cesti-Browne by a comfortable 15-point margin to keep his seat.
