Jesse Scheckner
Government relations specialist Kevin Marino Cabrera picked up another high-profile Republican endorsement Monday, when Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer and Fire Marshal, endorsed his campaign for the Miami-Dade County Commission.
Cabrera is running to represent District 6, which encompasses Miami Springs, West Miami, parts of Miami, Coral Gables and Hialeah, and a portion of the county’s unincorporated area, including Miami International Airport.
He’ll perform deftly as a Commissioner, argued Patronis, who stressed Cabrera’s commitment to supporting police and other uniformed public servants.
“Kevin will fight for our families while standing with firefighters and first responders across the community to ensure safer streets and neighborhoods,” he said in a statement. “I am proud to endorse Kevin Marino Cabrera in his bid for Miami-Dade County Commission, District 6.”
Cabrera, who filed to run for Commissioner on April 26, said it is “a great honor” to receive backing from Patronis and confirmed that public safety is a major part of his platform.
“Safer communities require strong firefighters and police officers,” he said. “If elected, I pledge to be a strong advocate on behalf of all our firefighters and first responders in the Miami-Dade County Commission.”
Patronis’ endorsement comes just days after former President Donald Trump threw his “Complete and Total” support behind Cabrera’s campaign. Cabrera worked as Florida State Director for Trump and the Republican National Committee during the 2020 election.
His work, which included the creation and guidance of a voter-contact program with more than 200 staffers, helped result in the highest level of registered Republicans in Florida history, delivering the state to Trump and paving the way for registered Republicans to outnumber Democrats in the state for the first time in history.
Cabrera, who is married to Republican Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera, has worked for numerous GOP politicians, including Trump, former Gov. Jeb Bush, former U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo and Florida Supreme Court Justice John Couriel.
He is now a senior vice president for the global public strategy firm Mercury.
Last week, his campaign announced that in just a week of fundraising, his political committee, Dade First PC, had amassed more than $100,000. That haul would put him within striking distance of architect Orlando Lamas, who filed in March to run for the District 6 seat after dropping a bid for the Florida House.
They’ll face fellow Republican Dariel Fernandez, who owns and operates Coral Gables-based software development firm Ponemous Inc., in the (technically) nonpartisan Commission race.
All seek to succeed term-limited Commissioner Rebeca Sosa, a Republican education professional who has held office for nearly 21 uninterrupted years. Term limits that Miami-Dade voters overwhelmingly approved in 2012 require that she and several other long-tenured Commissioners leave office this November.
