Dan Horton-Diaz crosses $50K raised for HD 120

Democratic lawyer Dan Horton-Diaz raised more than $13,000 last month toward his bid to take House District 120, where he and two other candidates are vying to unseat incumbent Republican Rep. Jim Mooney.

With that, Horton-Diaz has amassed more than $50,000 since launching his campaign in January. That includes $16,000 of his own money.

As of Feb. 28, he held about $39,000.

Almost all of his gains last month came through grassroots donations. He received 45 individual contributions ranging from $25 to $1,300. His sole business donation was a $500 check from Miami law firm The Legal Team.

He spent $5,700. Almost all of it went to the Atlanta-based graphic design, marketing and website development firm Oranges & Apples Brand Strategy LLC.

Horton-Diaz previously worked as a district chief of staff to former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell and as a legislative aide to state Sen. Annette Taddeo, who is now running for Governor.

He first ran for HD 120 in 2016, when he cruised through the Primary but fell to Republican incumbent Holly Raschein, who is now a Monroe County Commissioner. In 2020, he ran for Senate District 39 but lost in the Primary to Democratic Rep. Javier Fernandez, who then lost to Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez.

In this year’s August Primary, he will face fellow lawyer Adam Gentle, who raised just shy of $23,000 last month, bringing him neck-and-neck with Horton-Diaz with $50,000 raised this cycle.

Of that, Gentle had about $41,000 left as of Feb. 28 between his campaign account and political committee, Adam for Democracy.

Gentle, who this month picked up an endorsement from LGBTQ Victory Fund, spent about $4,400 last month. Most of it went to two companies: Key West-based Duval Street Media for web development services and Coral Gables-based Blue Velocity Consulting for consultation.

Mooney, a former Islamorada Council member who assumed state office in November 2020, was barred from fundraising during the Legislative Session, which ended Monday.

Still, after some relatively light spending in February — $902 to Tallahassee-based Pac Financial Management for “treasurer services” and $550 to Republican political fundraising firm Capital Resources for “finance consulting” — Mooney ended the month with a decent fundraising lead over his challenges.

Between his campaign account and political committee, Friends of Jim Mooney, he held about $71,500 as of Feb. 28.

Mooney’s lone Primary opponent so far is Robert Allen, whom the Florida Division of Corporations lists as the president of Barefoot Painting O.T.L.K. Inc., a house-painting company located in Monroe’s unincorporated Big Pine Key neighborhood.

February marked Allen’s first month of fundraising since he filed to run in December. He raised $150, of which $50 came from his own pocket.

Allen reported no spending.

HD 120 covers all of Monroe and the southernmost portion of Miami-Dade County, including parts of Homestead, Florida City and Homestead Air Reserve Base.

The district has leaned conservative over the last decade, having last elected a Democratic Representative in 2010. Th decennial redistricting process does change HD 120’s boundaries slightly, but keeps it as a GOP-leaning seat.

Candidates faced a March 10 deadline to report all campaign finance activities.