Vicki Lopez raises $74K for HD 113 bid with big GOP boost

Public affairs consultant and GOP political insider Vicki Lopez amassed $79,000 for her bid to take House District 113 this fall. Nearly two-thirds of that came from the Republican Party of Florida.

Lopez’s campaign account received a $49,000 cash infusion from the Florida GOP, her largest single contribution between Aug. 1 and Sept. 9, plus another $20,000 from various donors.

Her political committee, Common Sense Government, took $10,000 from the Law Offices of Fernando Pomares, a Miami-based firm specializing in real estate, personal injury and medical malpractice.

Also from the real estate sector, Lopez accepted $1,000 apiece from Miami-based building supplies company DC-SOFL and Suncoast PAC, a political committee whose chair, Kendra Gaugush, is a real estate lawyer for Miami firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney.

Several health care organizations and businesses chipped in as well. The Florida Medical Association, Citizens for Cancer Awareness, Florida Assisted Living PAC and Florida Osteopathic Medical Association each gave $1,000.

Other donations included $2,000 from Florida CPA PAC and $1,000 from Associated Industries of Florida, Wren PC and Florida Free Enterprise Fund, a political committee run by Nick Catroppo, vice president of political operations for the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

Lopez spent about $13,500 from Aug. 1 to Sept. 9. That included more than $11,000 paid to Hialeah-based Front Runner’s Services for canvassing and poll worker costs, plus another $1,750 for accounting and reporting services.

The rest covered fundraising service charges.

Since she filed to run for state office in March, Lopez has raised more than $321,000. She had just short of $195,000 left as of Sept. 9.

Meanwhile, her Democratic opponent, lawyer A.J. D’Amico, had just $33,000 remaining.

Between Aug. 1 and Sept. 9, D’Amico collected more than $24,000. While close to 30 people gave him checks of between $1 and $1,000 — most were for $100 or less — the preponderance of his gains came from organizational and corporate contributions.

From the real estate sector, several groups linked to the Florida Association of Realtors collectively gave $3,000. D’Amico also received $2,000 from real estate companies tied to Miami-based Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, the largest wine and spirits distributor in the country, and $1,000 from the Florida arm of commercial development association NAIOP.

Donations from D’Amico’s profession came in too. Florida Justice PC, South Florida Citizens for Justice and Central Florida Citizens for Justice — which shared a Tallahassee address on D’Amico’s ledger — gave a combined $3,000.

McGuireWoods and RSA Consulting gave $1,000 each.

From the health care sector, D’Amico took $1,000 from Florida Doctors for Private Practice, Florida Medical Practitioners and Florida Physicians for Private Practice — which similarly shared a Tallahassee address — as well as the National Provider Alliance, a network of independent surgical assistants.

Other contributions to D’Amico included $1,000 from New Jersey-based waste management company Covant Energy, JPMorgan Chase and the Committee of Florida Agents, a political committee whose chair, Craig Dewhurst, works as an insurance agent for State Farm in St. Augustine.

The Florida Democratic Party also gave D’Amico $3,250 worth of in-kind aid to help with research costs.

D’Amico spent more than $19,000 between Aug. 1 and Sept. 9. Nearly 90% of that paid for campaign mailers, design and printing services from Connecticut-based Mission Control Inc. and Impact Politics LLC in California.

He also paid $1,500 to GW Strategies in Miami Shores for consulting.

HD 113 covers a central portion of Miami-Dade County, including parts of Coral Gables, Key Biscayne and Miami.

Last month, Lopez easily dispatched of entrepreneur and Venezuelan American Republican Alliance member Alberto Perosch with about 67% of the vote in the Republican Primary to win her party’s nod for the race.

D’Amico performed similarly, outpacing Biscayne Neighbors Association President Andres Althabe in the Democratic Primary with 68% of ballots cast for him.

The General Election is on Nov. 8.