Jesse Scheckner
Incumbent state Rep. Vance Aloupis had his second-best fundraising month this cycle in September, raising more than $13,000 to defend his seat representing House District 115.
The unopposed (for now) Miami Republican holds about $118,500 between his campaign and political committee, The Right Future for Florida.
Most of Aloupis’ gains last month came from the automotive sales industry. Braman Management, an umbrella company chaired by billionaire car dealer and former Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman, gave $5,000 through subsidiaries Braman Cadillac, Braman Hyundai, Braman Motors, Braman Imports and a real estate company under the Braman banner: Braman Real Estate Associates.
Rogelio Tovar, president and chair of investment firm RT holdings, which owns numerous car dealerships across the country, among other businesses, gave $1,000.
Gene Prescott, president of the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables and the principal shareholder of Seaway Hotels Corp., also contributed $1,000.
Government affairs companies ASG Consulting Group and RSA Consulting Group gave Aloupis $1,000 each. The two companies share a Bradenton address, according to filings with the Florida Division of Elections.
Molina Healthcare of Florida, which earned top marks on the National Committee on Quality Assurance’s “report cards” last month, donated another $1,000. The company is headquartered in Long Beach but operates a location in Doral.
Aloupis also received $1,000 donations apiece from three PCs: Building a Brighter Future for Florida, a conservative group run by Thomas Piccolo of Strategic Image Management; FAIAPAC, the lobbying arm of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents; and fellow Rep. Lawrence McClure’s Conservative Florida.
Aloupis restricted his spending to two big-ticket items. He paid Miami-based Red Road Consulting $2,150 Sept. 14. Eleven days later, he gave $1,000 to state Rep. Mike Caruso of Boca Raton.
The CEO of Miami-headquartered nonprofit The Children’s Movement of Florida, Aloupis leads the House’s Early Learning and Elementary Education Subcommittee.
He captured the HD 115 seat by 579 votes — a 1-percentage-point margin — in November 2018 to succeed Republican Michael Bileca in the chamber. Two years later, he trounced Democrat Franccesca Cesti-Browne by 15 percentage points to stay in office.
HD 115 includes parts of the cities of Doral, Miami, South Miami, Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay, as well as some of Miami-Dade’s unincorporated area, including Kendall, Fontainebleau, Glenvar Heights and Westchester.
By the time voters go to the polls next year, the district will have remained in GOP hands for at least a decade.
But while Aloupis prioritizes helping members from his party, he has shown a willingness to work across the aisle on important policy issues, including a bipartisan bill Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last year requiring publicly funded coastal project contractors to study nearby environmental effects before building can begin.
