A week after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland killed 17 people, survivors and hundreds of others descended on Florida’s Capitol on Feb. 21, 2018, to demand action on gun control and mental health issues. BY EMILY MICHOT
Despite a global pandemic shutting millions of Americans indoors and civil unrest in cities nationwide after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, time marches on and elections wait for no one, at least in Florida. (Sixteen other states across the country have postponed their primaries.)
Florida’s primary election is about two months away and the general election November 3 will be here in no time.
The qualifying period for state House and Senate hopefuls begins at noon on Monday, June 8, and ends at noon on Friday, June 12. The Division of Elections began accepting qualifying papers May 25. The primary election in Florida is August 18.
Here’s who has qualified for the 2020 races for Florida House and Senate:
House 92, parts of Broward County
Incumbent: Patricia Williams, D
Candidates: Nancy St. Clair, NPA
House 93, parts of Broward County
Incumbent: Chip LaMarca, R
Candidates: Democrat Linda Thompson Gonzalez
Before he was elected to the Florida House in 2018, LaMarca served on the Lighthouse Point City Commission and later, the Broward County Commission.
House 94, parts of Broward County
Incumbent: Incoming House Democratic co-Leader Bobby Dubose
State Rep. Bobby DuBose successfully helped get the compensation bill through the Legislature.
Candidates: Democrat Elijah Manley
Before he was elected to the Florida House in 2014, Dubose served on the Fort Lauderdale City Commission. He served as Vice Mayor of Fort Lauderdale from 2011 to 2012.
House 95, parts of Broward County
Incumbent: Anika Omphroy, D
Candidates: Democrat Jasmen Rogers-Shaw
Former Miami Workers Center political director and consultant Rogers-Shaw announced her candidacy to primary Omphroy less than a month ago. She is outraising Omphroy by more than $10,000.
House 96, parts of Broward County
Incumbent: Kristin Jacobs, D (died of cancer in April).
Candidates: Democrats Saima Farooqui, Muhammad Amin and Parkland Mayor Christine Hunschofsky.
Parkland Mayor Christine Hunschofsky attends a meeting with President Donald Trump and state and local officials on school safety in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018, in Washington. Evan Vucci AP
Farooqui ran against Jacobs for the seat in 2018, winning just 20.7% of the votes.
House 97, parts of Broward County
Incumbent: Dan Daley, D
Daley is unopposed.
Before he assumed office in 2019, Daley served as a city commissioner and vice mayor of Coral Springs.
House 98, parts of Broward County
Incumbent: Michael Gottlieb, D
Gottlieb is unopposed
House 99, parts of southern Broward County
Incumbent: Evan Jenne, D
Jenne, the incoming House Democratic co-leader, is unopposed.
Before the state underwent redistricting, Jenne represented House District 100, which at the time stretched from Dania Beach to Pembroke Pines in southern Broward County. He served House 100 from 2006 to 2012.
House 100, most of Hollywood and parts of northern Miami-Dade County
Incumbent: Joe Geller, D
In 1989, Geller was elected chairman of the Miami-Dade County Democratic Party, serving in that capacity in 2000. In 2004, he was elected mayor of North Bay Village.
House 101, southeastern Broward County
Incumbent: Shevrin Jones, D (running for Senate 35)
Candidates: Democrats Marie Woodson, West Park Vice Mayor Brian Johnson, Pembroke Park Mayor Ashira Mohammed and Republican Vincent “Vinny” Parlatore.
House 102, Miami Gardens to Pembroke Pines
Incumbent: Sharon Pritchett, D (term limited)
Candidates: Democrats Dennis Hinds, Matthew Tisdol and Miami Gardens City Council members Felicia Robinson and David Williams Jr.
House 103, parts of Broward and west Miami-Dade County
Incumbent: Cindy Polo, D
Candidates: Republicans Thomas Fabricio and Miami Lakes Vice Mayor Nelson Rodriguez
In 2018, political novice Polo won a close race against Frank Mingo, flipping the long-held Republican seat from red to blue.
House 104, southern Broward County, stretching from Pembroke Pines to the Collier County border
Incumbent: Richard Stark, D (term limited, running for Weston mayor)
Candidates: Democrats Robin Bartleman (currently on Broward County School Board) and Morey Wright and Republican George Navarini.
House 105, parts of Broward, Collier and Miami-Dade counties.
Incumbent: Ana Maria Rodriguez, R (term limited, running for Senate 39)
Candidates: Democrats Javier Estevez and Maureen Porras, Republicans Pedro Barrios, Sweetwater City Commissioner David Borrero and Bibiana Potestad.
In 2018, Estevez lost the general election to Rodriguez by less than one percentage point.
House 107, northern Miami-Dade County stretching from North Miami to Miami Gardens
Incumbent: Barbara Watson, D (term limited)
Candidates: Democrats Christopher Benjamin and Ulysses “Buck” Harvard
House 108, parts of Miami-Dade County, including Biscayne Park, Miami Shores and downtown Miami.
Incumbent: Dotie Joseph, D
State Rep. Dotie Joseph of Miami speaks to a group of women, community leaders and advocates from across South Florida during a gathering to celebrate 100 years since the 19th Amendment passed and urge the Florida Legislature to prioritize the Equal Rights Amendment. The gathering Monday, Aug. 26, 2019, was at CIC Miami. Jose A. Iglesias JIGLESIAS@ELNUEVOHERALD.COM
Candidates: Democrats Georges Bossous, Jr. and former state representative Roy Hardemon
House 109, parts of Miami-Dade County including Miami Gardens and Opa-locka
Incumbent: James Bush III, D
Rep. James Bush speaks alongside Gov. Ron DeSantis during the bill signing ceremony at William A. Kirlew Junior Academy, a Seventh-day Adventist K-8 school in Miami Gardens, on Thursday, May 9, 2019. DAVID SANTIAGO DSANTIAGO@MIAMIHERALD.COM
House 110, parts of Miami-Dade County including Hialeah and Miami Lakes
Incumbent: House Speaker José Oliva, R (term limited)
Candidates: Democrat Annette Collazo and Republican Alejandro Rizo Jr.
House 111, northeastern Miami-Dade County, including parts of Miami and Hialeah
Incumbent: Bryan Avila, R
Candidates: Democrat Ross Hancock.
House 112, parts of Miami-Dade County including Miami, Coral Gables and Key Biscayne
Incumbent: Nicholas Duran, D
Candidates: Republicans Rosa Maria Palomino and Bruno Barreiro.
House 113, parts of Miami-Dade County including North Bay Village and Miami Beach
Incumbent: Michael Grieco, D
Grieco, a former Miami-Dade County prosecutor and Miami Beach city commissioner, is unopposed.
House 114, parts of Miami-Dade County from West Miami to Cutler Bay
Incumbent: Javier Fernandez, D (running for Senate 39)
Candidates: Democrats Jean-Pierre Bado and Sue Loyzelle and Republican Demi Busatta Cabrera (former chief of staff to term-limited Sen. Anitere Flores)
House 115, parts of Miami-Dade County including South Miami, Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay
Incumbent: Vance Aloupis, R
Candidates: Democrat Franccesca Cesti-Browne
House 116, parts of Miami-Dade County including Doral
Incumbent: Daniel Perez, R
Candidates: Democrat Robert Lynch, Republican Gabriel Garcia and write-in candidate Manual Rodriguez.
Perez is slated to become House Speaker in 2024.
House 117, south Miami-Dade County
Incumbent: House Democratic Leader Kionne McGhee (term limited)
Fla. State House Rep. Kionne McGhee during a debate on gun safety on the floor of the House in March. The representative’s uncle was shot and killed the day before Christmas Scott Keeler, Tampa Bay Times
Candidates: Democrats Kevin Chambliss, Harold Ford and Jessica Laguerre Hylton.
House 118, parts of Miami-Dade County, west of State Road 994
Incumbent: Anthony Rodriguez, R
Candidates: Democrat Ricky Junquera, former chair of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party
House 119, parts of western Miami-Dade County
Incumbent: Juan Fernandez-Barquin, R
Candidates: Democrat Imtiaz Mohammed
House 120, parts of Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties, including the Florida Keys
Incumbent: Holly Raschein, R (term limited)
Candidates: Democrat Clint Barras, Republicans Rhonda Rebman Lopez, Islamorada Village Council Member and former mayor James Mooney and Alexandria Suarez.
Rebman Lopez has recently come under fire for taking a $1,000 donation from Interamerican Consulting — former congressman David Rivera’s firm that signed a $50 million contract with the Venezuelan government.
Senate 29, parts of Palm Beach and Broward Counties
Incumbent: Kevin Rader, D (has dropped out)
Candidates: Democrats Tina Polsky, Irv Slosberg and Republican Brian Norton.
Polsky, a current House member, and Slosberg, a former one, will battle for the seat left open by Rader, who announced May 19 that he was stepping back to spend more time with his family and focus on his career in the insurance industry. Slosberg’s daughter, Emily Slosberg, is a Democratic state representative in the Florida House.
This is not the elder Slosberg’s first try at a senate seat. In 2006, he ran and lost against now-Congressman Ted Deutch in the Democratic primary. In 2016, he lost a primary election to former state senator Jeff Clemens to represent Senate District 31.
When Clemens resigned in 2017 after acknowledging an affair with a lobbyist, Slosberg ran against Sen. Lori Berman in a special election and lost.
Senate 31, parts of central Palm Beach County
Incumbent: Lori Berman, D
Candidate: Republican Tami Donnally.
Before Berman was elected to the state Senate in 2019, she served four terms in the Florida House.
Senate 33, Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, North Lauderdale, Margate, Oakland Park, and surrounding areas in Broward County.
Incumbent: Perry Thurston, D
Candidates: Democrats Terry Ann Williams, Shelton Pooler and Steven Meza.
Thurston served four terms in the Florida House, representing the Fort Lauderdale area from 2006 to 2014, and was the House minority leader in his final term. Thurston is slated to succeed Sen. Gary Farmer as minority leader of the Florida Senate in the 2022-24 legislative session.
Thurston ran against Republican Pam Bondi for state Attorney General in 2014.
Senate 35, Miami Gardens, Miramar, and surrounding areas in southern Broward and northern Miami-Dade County.
Incumbent: Oscar Braynon, D (term limited)
Candidates: Write-in candidate Darien Hill and Democrats Barbara Watson, Wilbur Thirkell Harbin, Daphne Campbell, Miami Gardens City Council member Erhabor Ighodaro, Shevrin Jones and former state representative Cynthia Stafford, who was term limited in 2018.
Jones, a current representative in the Florida House, has the backing of Senate Victory, the Senate Democratic Caucus’ fundraising arm. Campbell is a former state senator who lost her bid for reelection in Senate 38 to Jason Pizzo in 2018. Campbell also served in the state House from 2010 to 2016.
Larose ran as a Democrat for governor in 2010, receiving 121 votes. In 2012, he ran for U.S. Senate.
Senate 37, Coral Gables, Pinecrest, Key Biscayne, and downtown Miami
Incumbent: José Javier Rodríguez, D
Candidates: Republican Ileana Garcia and NPA Alex Rodriguez.
Before his election to the Senate in 2016, Fernandez served two terms in the Florida House. Garcia previously served as the deputy press secretary at the Department of Homeland Security under President Donald Trump. She founded the Miami-based Latinas For Trump.
Senate 39, South Miami-Dade and all of Monroe County
Incumbent: Anitere Flores, R (term limited)
Candidates: Democrats Javier Fernández and Daniel Horton Diaz, NPA candidate Celso Alfonso and Republican Ana Maria Rodriguez.
Fernández, a Cuban-American attorney and current representative in the Florida House, is running to replace Flores in what many political observers see as one of the most flippable seats this cycle. Voters in the Sweetwater-to-Key West district supported Andrew Gillum over Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2018, and Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016 despite also electing Flores.
Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who represents the area, defeated incumbent Republican candidate Carlos Curbelo to flip the seat blue in 2018.
Rodriguez, of Doral, is term-limited out of the Florida House. Before running for state House, she served on the Doral City Council.
