Jesse Scheckner
Government relations specialist Kevin Marino Cabrera raised $291,000 in May toward his bid to represent District 6 on the Miami-Dade County Commission, according to a Thursday press note from his campaign.
Cabrera’s haul last month, combined with gains he made in April, when he announced his candidacy, brings his total holdings to more than $400,000 between his campaign account and political committee, Dade First PC.
That may place the Miami Republican first in a fundraising contest for the District 6 seat, barring a surprise influx of cash for one of his four opponents. Official campaign fundraising filings are due June 10.
“The amount of support our campaign has received during the last month has been incredible,” Cabrera said in a statement. “We are grateful for the trust the residents of District 6 have placed in us, (and we) are working hard every day, knocking on doors, and listening to our neighbors across the community, so we can bring much-needed perspectives to the County Commission.”
A senior vice president for global public strategy firm Mercury, Cabrera filed for the Miami-Dade Commission race on April 26. He has previously served as an elected Councilman on a Miami-Dade land-use zoning board.
Last month, he received a spate of endorsements from high-profile GOP leaders, beginning May 6 with an announcement from Donald Trump, who gave his “Complete and Total support” to Cabrera’s campaign.
Cabrera worked as Florida State Director for Trump and the Republican National Committee during the 2020 election, when he helped deliver the highest level of registered Republicans in Florida history and secured the state for the former President.
He also received endorsements from Florida Chief Operating Officer and Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis, U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar and future Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez, as well as a nod from Tuesday from the Associated Builders and Contractors, Florida East Coast Chapter.
Cabrera, who is married to Republican state Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera, faces four opponents in the technically nonpartisan contest: Republican entrepreneur Dariel Fernandez, who owns and operates a software development firm in Coral Gables; Coral Gables City Commissioner Jorge Fors Jr., who launched his campaign this month with an endorsement from outgoing Miami-Dade Commissioner Rebeca Sosa; architect Orlando Lamas, who switched from campaigning for the Florida House to a county bid in March; and Democratic Miami Springs Councilman Victor Vázquez, a lifelong educator and Air Force veteran who filed to run May 10.
District 6 covers a central portion of Miami-Dade, including part or all of the cities of Miami Springs, Virginia Gardens and West Miami; parts of Coral Gables, Hialeah and Miami; and some of the county’s unincorporated area. The district also contains Miami International Airport, one of the county’s top two economic engines, and a Miami golf course being redeveloped as a soccer stadium complex for the city’s Major League Soccer team, Inter Miami CF.
Sosa, who currently represents District 6, must leave the 13-member County Commission this year due to voter-approved term limits.
