Five candidates running for the vacant House District 113 seat in Miami-Dade added a collective $267,000 last quarter, according to Division of Election records published in mid-April, five months after the vacancy occurred.

As of Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis had yet to call a Special Election for the seat, which Republican Vicki Lopez left for a spot on the County Commission in November.

Those vying for their parties’ nomination aren’t idly waiting for him to do so.

Democrat Gloria Romero Roses led all with more than $138,000 collected between Jan. 1 and March 31, though much of that — $90,000 — came through a self-loan that, if unspent, is entirely refundable.

Her lone Primary opponent, finance and politics pro Justin Mendoza Routt, placed second overall with an almost $60,000 haul.

Both candidates’ ledgers included notable “Blue Team” names.

In a three-way Republican Primary, real estate pro and Miami-Dade Planning Advisory Board member Frank Lago raised nearly $58,000 with ample help from the lobbying and development industries.

Meanwhile, former Miami-Dade Commissioner Bruno Barreiro and Tony Diaz collected $10,000 and $7,500, respectively, with the help of several eyebrow-raising donors.

HD 113 covers a central portion of Miami-Dade County, spanning all of Key Biscayne and parts of Coral Gables and Miami, including Virginia Key and PortMiami, one of the county’s two top economic engines alongside Miami International Airport.

The district has skewed redder in recent cycles and now contains slightly more registered Republicans than Democrats, though voters without party affiliation still outnumber both, according to L2 voter data.

Democratic Primary

Romero Roses, who announced a slew of endorsements this month, received 190 contributions last quarter between her campaign account and political committee, Move Miami Forward-Pal’ante Miami.

She also reported about $7,300 worth of in-kind aid, most of it self-given to cover office expenses, staff costs and an event ticket.

Through the end of last month, she had brought in more than $206,000, of which $122,500 was self-loaned.

She entered April with $170,000 on hand.

Her donors included Broward County Commissioner Nan Rich, who gave $1,000; Palm Beach County Tax Collector Anne Gannon, who gave $50; and South Miami Mayor Javier Fernández, who chipped in $250.

Others included $250 from former U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala, $450 from ex-Florida CFO Alex Sink, $100 from former Miami-Dade Commissioner Katy Sorenson, $113 from former Cutler Bay Mayor Peggy Bell, and $100 from former Key Biscayne Mayor Mike Davey, who launched a short-lived congressional bid last year.

Former Pinecrest Vice Mayor Anna Hochkammer donated $500 directly and another $250 through her political committee. Pat Keon, a former Coral Gables Commissioner, gave $1,000.

Romero Roses’ single biggest gain, a $3,500 check, came from wealthy retiree and dependable Democratic donor Barbara Garrett.

Gepsie Metellus, Director of the Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center, contributed $1,000. Filmmaker David Frankel, who most recently directed ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2,” gave $250, while education pro Norma Schwartz — who penned a Florida Politics op-ed back in 2021 — gave twice that.

Several real estate interests gave to Romero Roses last month. Three South Florida companies — Tenant Evaluation LLC, Alfred I Dupont Building Partnership and 11405 SW 82nd Ave LLC — gave $1,000.

So did another company called 184 ST ME LLC associated with Romero Roses’ husband, Tomas Roses.

Real estate developer Gary Ressler and his wife, Vanessa, each donated $1,000. Ressler also gave $3,000 through three companies he owns.

Other contributions included $500 apiece from Ruth’s List Florida and Massage Envy Cooper City.

Romero Roses spent about $36,200 in the first quarter, including $4,250 to Washington-based The Pivot Group for design and printing services.

Another $3,000 went to Blue Velocity Consulting in Coral Gables. She also paid $2,237 to Voter Phones, a North Carolina company, for text messages.

The rest covered staff costs, printing, software, compliance, accounting and campaign apparel.

Mendoza Routt, who leads the Miami-Dade Young Democrats, took in nearly 80 contributions in Q1.

This cycle, he has raised more than $75,500 through his campaign account and political committee, Friends of JMR. Of that, $35,000 was self-loaned.

After spending about $7,000, he entered the second quarter with about $68,000 on hand.

Mendoza Routt’s biggest personal check last quarter came from Shane McWilliams, the U.S. Commercial Lead for Palantir Technologies, who gave $1,500.

Other personal donations of note included $100 from Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Vice President Peter Campbell, $250 from congressional candidate Robin Peguero, $200 from Coral Gables real estate executive Michael Hammond, $1,000 from former Miami-Dade School Board candidate Russ Rywell and $100 from former School Board candidate Max Tuchman.

Lawyer David Geller, husband of former Miami-Dade School Board member and current Senate District 38 candidate Lucia Báez-Geller, donated $250. His law firm also gave $1,000.

Surf Club developer Ramzi Achi, who last year bought “Wonder Woman” actress Lynda Carter’s Four Seasons Residences condo for $19.5 million, gave Mendoza Routt $500.

Real estate lawyer Kendrick Meek Jr., son of the late Congressman, contributed $100.

Mendoza Routt also received $5,000 from the political committee of former Miami-Dade Sheriff candidate and current Miami City Manager James Reyes and $1,000 from Miami-based Affiliated Healthcare Centers.

The preponderance of Mendoza Routt’s spending, $5,000, went to Plantation-based MDW Communications for digital ads and direct mail consulting

He also paid more than $1,000 to EDGE Communications in Miami for costs related to his campaign kickoff event.

The rest covered bank fees, supplies and donation-processing fees.

Republican Primary

Lago received more than 50 donations last quarter, an overwhelming share from donors in real estate and government relations.

But arguably his most notable gains included $2,000 from a pair of political committees run by House Speaker Daniel Perez and $1,000 from the political committee of Miami-Dade Commission Chair Anthony Rodriguez, who led the Nov. 19 vote to appoint Lopez.

Lago’s biggest checks included $5,000 apiece from Sunshine Gasoline Distributors and charter school company School Development HC Finance, and $3,000 from South Miami insurance analyst Juan Cordoba.

The Real Property and Trust Law section of the Florida Bar Association gave $3,000, while lobbyist Ron Book contributed $2,000.

Lago received $1,000 apiece from Rubin Turnbull and Associates, Florida Partners, Greenberg Traurig, Capital City Consulting, Cumming Management Group, Tridente Strategies, The Fiorentino Group and SMQ Law.

Land-use lawyer Spencer Crowley gave $1,000, too. So did the political committee of former state Rep. Vance Aloupis, who now works as a partner at Tampa lobbying firm Strategos Group; and another political committee run by former state Sen. Rob Bradley of Fleming Island, a lobbyist who was succeeded in the upper chamber by his wife, Jennifer.

Lobbyist Max Losner, the son of Homestead Mayor Steven Losner and a peer of Lago’s on the Planning Advisory Board, gave $500.

A company associated with Coral Gables real estate investment firm Black Salmon gave $2,000. Development companies Moss & Associates and Griffin P3 Structures, and developers Alberto Perez and Eduardo Otaola, each kicked in $1,000.

Industry groups were generous as well. Lago took $1,000 each from Associated Industries of Florida, Florida Farmers, the Florida Internet and Television Association, Florida Chiropractic Association, Agents for a Better Florida and The Doctors Company.

He received the same sum from the Committee for Florida Justice Reform, whose aim is to combat the “rampant misuse of litigation” in Florida that “harms small businesses, kills jobs, increases costs and damages the economy.”

Lago’s spending included $5,000 to Tampa-based SIMWins for voter outreach, web design services and an “event expense”; $3,000 to Miami Rep. Juan Porras’ eponymous consulting firm; about $1,835 to Vital Graphics & Signs in Hialeah for campaign materials; and $850 to Friends of Cape Florida for a sponsorship spot.

The rest covered accounting and donation-processing fees.

Barreiro, a former state Representative and Miami-Dade Commission Chair, is mounting his third bid to return to public office since leaving it for an unsuccessful congressional run in 2018.

He last ran for the Miami City Commission in 2021, but dropped out after just six weeks. Last year, he and Diaz were among five people who applied for the District 5 seat on the County Commission that ultimately went to Lopez.

Of almost $117,000 Barreiro reported raising between his campaign account and political committee, Transparency in Government PC, all but $17,000 was self-loaned.

Most of that latter sum came last quarter, which Barreiro exited with about $93,300 left after spending more than $24,000.

Like others, Barreiro leaned on real estate givers, including Coral Gables developer Raul Puig, Miami-based Josa Holdings and Prieguez Solutions, and an LLC associated with Coral Gables-headquartered Codina Partners, all of which contributed $1,000.

Perhaps Barreiro’s most eye-catching Q1 contributor was Luis Garcia-Fanjul, a water-metering executive who is notably not related to the famous Fanjul family that owns the largest sugar refining company in the world. He and his wife, heiress Judith Camps-Garcia, each gave $1,000.

So did the lobbying firm of Weiss Serota Helfman Cole and Bierman, Miami River Advertising and Miami boatyard Jones Superyacht.

More than half of Barreiro’s spending — $16,200 — went to IFA Holdings LLC in Virginia for polling. He also paid $3,000, split evenly, for political consulting from The American Strategies Group in Coral Gables and Miami-based MV Almer Productions.

Barreiro also spent just over $900 on postcards and shipping. The rest of his spending covered a check order, a district map from the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Office, and bank and donation-processing fees.

Diaz, a businessman who in January invited his HD 113 opponents to participate in policy planning meetings, spent four times what he raised last quarter while notching donations from several noteworthy contributors.

Between filing in November and March 31, Diaz raised $42,000, of which $26,600 came from his bank account, but was not earmarked as loans.

After paying out more than $30,000 last quarter, he had just under $12,000 heading into April.

Diaz took 31 contributions in Q1, including $100 from Coral Gables Commissioner Melissa Castro, who has frequently clashed with Mayor Vince Lago at City Hall.

Other notable donors include Miami-Dade Commission candidates Joe Sanchez and Miguel Quintero, House District 118 candidate Marco Insua and former Miami City Manager and mayoral candidate Emilio Gonzalez, all of whom gave $250.

Another $250 came from Alexander Munguia, the campaign Treasurer of gubernatorial candidate James Fishback. Fishback has been accused of grooming an underage girl and faces steep financial damages in an ongoing lawsuit with his former employer and has appeared on camera telling a Black man he should be lynched and campaigning alongside known misogynists and antisemites.

“Honestly,” Diaz said in a statement emailed to reporters April 1, it “feels better than an endorsement, when money talks.”

“Everyone who contributes to our campaign understands the importance of reforming our broken electoral system and purging the government of unclean actors it contains,” he added. “We lead by example as the only campaign that does not have a PAC in this race.”

Diaz also took $800 from Miami-based Splendor Regenerative Medicine, $500 from Miami holding company LLC JEG Holdings, $250 from Siboney Wine & Spirits in Coral Gables, and $200 from Miami-based Traffic Ticket Office and LexCorp.

He paid almost $12,000 to City Colors Digital Printing in Doral for printing, mailers and advertisement services. Another $8,350 went to Facebook parent Meta for social media ads, while $1,250 covered video production by Hialeah-based Barbaton.

The rest covered event costs, various digital and physical promotional costs — including a $600 ad buy with Political Cortadito — and donation-processing fees.

Candidates faced an April 10 deadline to report all campaign finance activities through March 31. The next reports are due June 10.

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