Demi Busatta Cabrera adds $10K to defend HD 114, rescinds donation to husband’s campaign opponent

Happy birthday to Demi Busatta Cabrera.

Republican Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera added $10,000 in April with help from several political committees across Florida to defend her seat representing a southeastern portion of Miami-Dade County in House District 114.

She also spent more than $4,000 last month. Of that, $1,000 went toward a donation to the campaign of Coral Gables City Commissioner Jorge Fors Jr.

That’s notable because Fors later filed to challenge Busatta Cabrera’s husband, Kevin Marino Cabrera, and three other candidates for the soon-to-be-open seat representing District 6 on the Miami-Dade County Commission.

Busatta Cabrera confirmed Tuesday she has since rescinded that donation.

“I already asked for a refund for that contribution,” she told Florida Politics.

As of April 30, Busatta Cabrera had close to $223,000 between her campaign account and political committee, People Above Politics. That’s nearly $100,000 less than she has raised since filing to fundraise for re-election in December 2020.

She received donations from four political committees in April. Tampa-based Floridians for Senior Care gave the biggest, through two checks totaling $3,500.

The lobbying arm of Metro Dade Firefighters Local 1403 gave $1,000. So did political committees associated with Fleming Island Republican Rep. Sam Garrison, who is on track to be House Speaker in 2026, and Putnam County Republican Rep. Bobby Payne.

Peter H. Collins, co-founder and managing principal of Tampa-based Forge Capital Partners donated $2,500.

Bellaire Bluffs lawyer Jennifer Wilson, one of three Republicans running for the open House District 59 seat, chipped in $1,000.

Busatta Cabrera’s largest single expenditure was a $1,750 payment to reserve a table at the South Florida Police Benevolent Association’s 2020 awards gala. The event is scheduled for May 21 at Trump National Doral Miami.

She also spent $500 on advertising with the Miami-Dade GOP, whose leadership has recently faced some upheaval.

Meanwhile, Democratic South Miami lawyer Adam Benna raised more than $6,000 last month, mostly through grassroots donations.

As of April 30, Benna had more than $78,000 between his campaign account and political committee, Sunshine Priorities.

About 15 people, including several fellow lawyers, gave Benna checks last month of between $25 and $500. Pinecrest Village Council member Anna Hochkammer donated $100. Former state Rep. and Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner gave the same.

Benna also gave himself $1,250 in April. He has loaned his campaign $3,250 since filing to run in January.

His biggest donation was a $2,000 check from Florida for Everyone, a political committee chaired by Raymond Paultre. Paultre is the executive director of the Florida Alliance, a secretive group of high-value Democratic donors.

Benna spent less than $2,000. More than half of that covered voter research costs. Another $500 went to political consultant P.J. Campbell, who until last month worked as Benna’s finance director, according to his LinkedIn page.

HD 114 covers part of Miami-Dade’s southern coast, including parts of Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest and a sizable chunk of Coral Gables.

Busatta Cabrera won office in November 2020 with more than 54% of the vote.

Candidates faced a May 10 deadline to report all campaign finance activity through the end of April.