Jesse Scheckner
Miami Lakes Republican Rep. Tom Fabricio added $24,000 toward his House District 110 re-election bid in the third quarter of 2023, with help from insurers, legal and lobbying businesses, and a mixture of other donors.
By Sept. 30, however, he’d more than erased his gains after heavy spending on canvassing, travel and political consulting.
Fabricio’s end-of-Q3 balance between his campaign account and political committee, True Freedom PC, was about $113,500.
So far, no one has filed to run against him. Such was the case last year, too, when he coasted into a second term unopposed.
Four insurance organizations have donated to Fabricio since July 1. The holding company of Slide Insurance, one of five companies cleared in December to take over some 300,000 policies from the state’s overburdened insurer of last resort, Citizens Property Insurance, topped the list with a $2,000 contribution.
Fabricio was a co-sponsor of legislation that approved Citizens’ “Depopulation Program.” Slide gave him another $5,000 in March.
He also received $1,224 from the Florida Insurance Council and $1,000 apiece from Florida Family Insurance Co. and Sarasota-based FCCI Insurance Group.
A lawyer by trade, Fabricio’s largest Q3 gain came from Forthright, a Minneapolis-based automated dispute resolution company.
Wolfpack Consulting & Government Relations, a Miami Lakes-based company owned and operated by Arnie Alonso, who worked for two decades as a Hialeah city administrator, donated $1,000. So did Miami-headquartered law and lobbying giant Greenberg Traurig.
Other contributions included $2,500 checks from the Florida Trucking Association, Florida Professional Employer Organization and Rock Holdings Inc., whose portfolio includes several fintech companies.
Fleming Island Republican Rep. Sam Garrison chipped in $1,000 through his political committee, Honest Leadership.
Fabricio spent close to $41,000 in the last quarter, more than half of it on marketing, voter outreach and self-reimbursements.
He paid Front Runner’s Services, a Miami Lakes-based political marketing and canvassing business, $16,500 for “canvassing costs.” Another $8,362 went back into his personal banking account to repay out-of-pocket travel and postage expenses.
Two consulting companies — Alai Strategic Group and Piccotte & Porter LLC — received $4,500 and $4,000, respectively.
Fabricio also paid $4,000 to the Republican Party of Miami-Dade County for an event sponsorship, $1,000 to the election campaign of Miami-Dade Clerk and Comptroller Juan Fernandez-Barquin, his former colleague in the House, and $500 to the Christian Family Coalition for advertising and promotion.
The rest covered upkeep and general expenditures, including accounting, postage and a $121 petition payment to the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections.
HD 110 covers a large portion of northern Miami-Dade, including Miami Lakes and Hialeah.
The Primary Election is on Aug. 20, 2024, followed by the General Election on Nov. 5.
Candidates faced a Tuesday deadline to report all campaign finance activity through Sept. 30.
