Anne Geggis
Freshman Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera doesn’t have a challenger to keep her from being re-elected to represent Miami-Dade County’s House District 114, but she does have a six-figure war chest to fend off a rival, should one emerge.
The Coral Gables nonprofit development director was able to flip her swingy district from blue to red in the last election and seems to be attracting significant support.
Between her personal campaign account and her political committee, People Above Politics, Busatta Cabrera in November raised $26,750, largely from political committees representing several different interests, particularly flood insurance, unions, and real estate. That mark puts her total war chest at $118,340 after spending a little more than she raised in November. The campaign’s November expenditures of about $33,00 were the most substantial this election cycle.
Tampa-based American Flood Action Political Committee and Miami Lakes-based Service Employee International Union State Council Political Committee both gave Busatta Cabrera $5,000, her largest contributions of the month. The Orlando-based Realtors Political Advocacy Committee gave her $2,500. Surterra Florida, a Tampa-based medical marijuana company, and Apartment Political Action Committee, based in Orlando, gave her campaign $1,500 each.
Checks for $1,000 came into Busatta Cabrera’s campaign from an array of interests, with no particular one accounting for a significant proportion, beyond the $3,000 she received from three similarly named political action committees each chaired by personal injury attorneys.
Central Florida Citizens for Justice, North Florida Citizens for Justice and South Florida Citizens for Justice, all based in Tallahassee, gave her $1,000 each.
Busatta Cabrera also collected $1,000 checks from The GEO Group, a Boca Raton-based private prison contractor; A Stronger Florida, a Tallahassee-based political committee; School Development HC Finance, a Miami-based charter school company; Entertainment Software Association, based in Washington; TSE Consulting, a Fort Lauderdale-based governmental relations firm; the Seminole Tribe in Hollywood; Humana, a health insurance company, and Ignacio Zuleta, a Miami attorney.
Busatta Cabrera’s committee gave $30,000 to the Florida House Republican Campaign Committee, accounting for nearly all of the campaign’s November expenditures.
The seat had been occupied by Democrats before Busatta Cabrera won election in 2020. Democratic Rep. Javier Fernandez gave up the seat to make an unsuccessful bid for Senate District 39 in 2020.
In the battle for the open seat, Busatta Cabrera’s Democratic opponent, Jean-Pierre Bado, lost to her by a little more than 8 percentage points.
Busatta Cabrera serves as the vice-chair of the Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee. She also is on the Judiciary Committee and on the subcommittees for Criminal Justice & Public Safety, Environment & Public Safety, Environment, Agriculture & Flooding, and Finance.
Redistricting may change the district boundaries for Busatta Cabrera’s district — draft maps show its shape changing slightly. But right now House District 119 incorporates parts of Coral Gables, Miami, South Miami and West Miami.
The campaign and the committee faced a Dec. 10 deadline to report all expenses and fundraising through Nov. 30.
