Jesse Scheckner
With another decent round of fundraising last month, businessman Daniel Sotelo has now amassed more than $150,000 for his still-unopposed bid to succeed fellow Republican Anthony Rodriguez in House District 118.
Sotelo added $9,000 to his campaign coffers in November, including a $1,000 self-contribution but not counting a $1,000 transfer from his political committee, Floridians for a Brighter Future.
Altogether, Sotelo has raised more than $155,000 and spent just under $5,000 since launching his campaign in June. Much of his funding is self-given, including a $50,000 loan he gave his campaign at its onset and some $1,000 kick-ins since through his various holdings.
A third of his gains last month came from Wellington-based freight transport company J & C Florida Trucking Inc. through three $1,000 donations: one through the company itself and two from its principals, Javier Machado Perez and Yolexis Moreno Echevarria.
Sotelo received another $2,750 from Miami Lakes property management business Yovan’s Corporation and its two principals, Yovan Amaro and Florentino Amaro.
He also accepted individual donations of $1,000 apiece from relatives Nelsy Hernandez and Eugenio Martinez, who share an Opa-locka address.
As was the case in prior months, Sotelo kept his spending low. He paid $360 to Florida campaign software company webEelect, $230 to conservative fundraising platform WinRed and $200 to UPS.
A U.S. Air Force veteran, Sotelo is running on a pro-business, pro-freedom and public safety platform. His campaign website says that, if elected, he will “fight to keep Florida and our community open for business.”
He has been something of a perennial political contender since 2018, when he ran unsuccessfully as a no-party candidate for HD 119. He has since run for HD 105 and Miami-Dade County community council, but has yet to score a win.
HD 118 currently includes parts of Miami-Dade’s Country Walk, Crossings, Kendale Lakes and Tamiami Neighborhoods, all of which are predominantly Hispanic and skew conservative. Plans to redraw Florida’s 120 House districts would slightly shrink HD 118, where Sotelo would still be eligible to run, based on his listed address.
Rodriguez is vacating his seat next year to run for Miami-Dade Commission District 13, which comprises many of the areas he now represents in Tallahassee. He faces Libertarian Martha Bueno.
Candidates face a Friday deadline to report all campaign finance activity through Nov. 30.
