Jesse Scheckner
Republican Rep. Vicki Lopez is leaning on her record of accomplishments, legislative backbone and gargantuan funding advantage to win a second term representing House District 113 in Miami-Dade.
Her underfunded and, until recently, overlooked Democratic challenger, Jackie Gross-Kellogg, is hoping unflattering recent press about the incumbent and the district’s historically left-leaning electoral tendencies will deliver her an upset.
Whichever way it goes, the race has become one of the most-watched House contests this cycle.
HD 113 spans a coastal, center-east portion of the county, covering Key Biscayne and parts of Coral Gables and Miami. It contains Virginia Key and PortMiami, one of Miami-Dade’s top two economic engines.
Voters in the district picked Joe Biden over Donald Trump by 11.5 points in 2020, but swung for Gov. Ron DeSantis two years later by 5.5 points.
In early October, registered Republicans overtook Democrats in the district by 276 voters. They now hold a 30.3% share of the HD 113 electorate, compared to 30% for Democrats and 39.7% for third- and no-party voters.
Lopez, 66, won by 2 points in 2022 to flip the long-blue seat red and has proven a highly effective, moderate policymaker since. In her freshman House term, she passed well over half her bills, including 75% of those she carried this past Session.
Many were ambitious proposals. She was the House sponsor for the Live Local Act, a seismic measure meant to address Florida’s affordable housing shortage that critics argued preempted local growth controls while giving too much to developers.
She also tackled the thankless task of fixing the state’s post-Surfside condo safety law, which still needs more work, and created a pilot program that extended home-hardening grants to condo owners.
Her legislative victories came despite her votes against Florida’s draconian six-week abortion ban and a proposal to roll back age restrictions on long rifle purchases the Legislature passed after the 2018 Parkland massacre. And it didn’t keep her from securing nearly $26 million in appropriations for her district, not counting funding for gun violence prevention and mental health programming that DeSantis vetoed in June.
Lopez earned praise and endorsements from both sides of the aisle and until October was all but a shoo-in for re-election. Gross-Kellogg, 56, was a late entrant this cycle. She carried a comparatively meager war chest and had been largely left to fend for herself as the state and local Democratic parties poured resources into other races they viewed as more winnable.
Meanwhile, House Republicans and Lopez were pouring big bucks into defending her seat through TV attack ads and a flood of mailers, some of which were aimed at HD 113 Democrats and depicted her as a “Blue Dog Progressive.”
A nearly lifelong resident of Key Biscayne, Gross-Kellogg is hardly the “radical” some of the ads have labeled her to be. Her campaign priorities include reviving the health of Biscayne Bay, tackling property insurance issues, protecting reproductive rights (if Amendment 4 fails) and investing in public schools through policies that ensure their long-term economic stability.
She also hopes to raise the minimum wage, make it easier for people to vote, pass “common-sense” gun control measures and provide outdoor workers with heat protections.
Gross-Kellogg’s local involvements run deep. A former semi-pro soccer player, she is the co-founder of the Key Biscayne Soccer Club. She held an elected role with a local PTSA, is a founder of the nonprofit Friends of Gables High to refurbish her alma mater. And today, she works as the program coordinator for the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center and is President of the Key Biscayne Dems.
Contrary to a House Republican Campaign Committee-paid mailer painting her as an anti-Israel ally of the Squad in Congress, Gross-Kellogg — who is Jewish — stands firmly with Israel. Until the pandemic hit, her kids were planning a Birthright trip to the world’s only Jewish-majority country.
But she has struggled to get her message out with little help from her party. She raised about $55,500 since filing in late May, spending all but $6,000 of it through mid-October, mostly on advertising, texts and mailers. After months of sitting the race out, the Florida Democratic Party threw her $1,000 worth of in-kind aid for “data services.”
Lopez, conversely, raised nearly $1 million this cycle, spent $862,000 and received almost $88,000 worth of direct aid from the Florida GOP.
She also carries endorsements from the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Florida Education Association, Florida Police Benevolent Association, Florida Realtors PAC, AFSCME Florida and Florida Professional Firefighters Association, among many others.
Notably, she also netted nods from Democratic Miami-Dade Commission Chair Oliver Gilbert and United Teachers of Dade, a county-level public teachers union affiliated with the progressive National Education Association.
Lopez’s victory two years ago marked her first electoral win in decades. She served on the Lee County Commission in the 1990s, but resigned from her post and was convicted of honest services fraud in 1997, serving 15 months in federal prison before then-President Bill Clinton commuted her sentence. A federal Judge vacated the conviction 11 years later.
She turned her negative experience into positive action, working as an advocate in state-appointed roles specializing in criminal justice reform, post-prison reentry and education under Govs. Jeb Bush, Charlie Crist and Rick Scott. She also held leadership roles with the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce.
Last week, she fell under new scrutiny after an investigative report by The Tributary revealed her connection to — and behind-the-scenes advocacy for — a school bus camera vendor she supported legislatively that employs her son and former stepson. Lopez hasn’t been accused of a crime. She said through a spokesperson that she consulted with House counsel after reporters contacted her about the matter and was advised that she did not have a conflict of interest.
The Miami Herald cited the report and Lopez’s actions in rescinding its endorsement of her and giving it instead to Gross-Kellogg. But Gross-Kellogg lacks the funding to capitalize on Lopez’s recent bad press, and with Election Day fast approaching, she still faces strong headwinds in a race many counted her out from winning months ago.
Others backing her campaign include Moms Demand Action, SAVE LGBTQ, Equality Florida Action PAC, Florida Planned Parenthood PAC, Ruth’s List Florida, the Florida chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, For the People, several Democratic Jewish organizations and former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, among others.
The General Election is on Nov. 5.
