Jesse Scheckner
House Minority Leader Pro Tempore Dotie Joseph has again won re-election to House District 108, this time without having her name grace a ballot.
Joseph, a North Miami Democrat, coasted back into office automatically Friday after no one — not a single Republican, Democrat or independent candidate — qualified to run against her.
That’s an even more emphatic victory than she enjoyed in 2022, when she trounced two opponents with 53% of the vote in a three-way Primary for HD 108, which covers a strip of northeast Miami-Dade County, including all of Biscayne Park, El Portal and Miami Shores Village, and portions of North Miami and Miami, including parts of the Little Haiti and Wynwood.
The district is dependably Democratic.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to continue serving the District 108 community my partnering with colleagues across the aisle pass meaningful legislation,” Joseph said in a statement.
“I will do my best to advocate for issues actually impacting all Floridians — regardless of income, race, religion, gender, immigration status, zip code, or political affiliation. I just care about people, and I’m honored to be and to fight for them.”
Joseph, a lawyer by trade, spent comparatively little this election cycle to hold onto her seat. She raised $3,000 through her campaign account since winning re-election two years ago, plus another $33,000 through her political committee, Victory Now.
As of May 31, the last date from which campaign finance activity is available, she spent just under $16,000. Most of it covered various upkeep fees, web costs, a fundraising event and contributions to the Florida Democratic Party and Haitian American Caucus of Florida.
She held about $91,500 by the end of last month.
Born in Haiti and a Florida resident since 1982, Joseph won election to the House in 2018 with a whopping 92% of the vote.
During the 2024 Legislative Session, she successfully sponsored measures to use state funds on court-appointed interpreters, enabling parents to record spoken communications between their children and child predators, and authorizing pharmacists to provide patients with emergency insulin in cases of emergency.
Joseph also filed legislation to expand Medicaid and collaborated with the League of Women Voters on a measure designed to provide clarity for returning citizens seeking to exercise their right to vote. Other legislation she carried aimed to help businesses and immigrant communities deal with recently passed immgration-focused laws, aid low-income families and enact standards for so-called “forever chemicals” in drinking water.
“Regrettably,” she told Florida Politics, “these policies were rejected by my Republican colleagues, and the funding I negotiated for infrastructure to address flooding and sea level rise in South Florida was vetoed by the Governor.”
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Editor’s note: This report has been updated to include comments from Joseph and more information about her work during the 2024 Legislative Session.
