A community activist endorsed by Donna Shalala won the Democratic primary for Florida House District 113, a district where many students who live off campus reside. Tuesday’s elections mark the end of the primary season for Florida, with several state legislative offices holding elections.
Florida House
UM students registered to vote off-campus in parts of Coral Gables and Miami will see former Miami-Dade Commissioner and state Rep. Bruno Barreiro and community activist Gloria Romero Roses on the District 113 ballot in November.
Barreiro won the Republican primary, running on a platform to fight overdevelopment and bring state funds back to Miami-Dade. Romero Roses defeated Justin Mendoza Routt in the Democratic primary on an affordable housing platform – along with an endorsement from former University of Miami president Donna Shalala.
HD 113 covers a central coastal portion of Miami-Dade, spanning all of Key Biscayne and parts of Coral Gables and Miami, including the neighborhoods of Brickell, Downtown, Little Havana, Coconut Grove, Shenandoah, and Virginia Key, as well as PortMiami.
The seat will have been vacant for nearly a year by the time the general election is held, after Gov. Ron DeSantis decided not to call a special election nine months ago when Republican Vicki Lopez left to take a seat on the Miami-Dade County Commission.
Former Miami-Dade School Board Member Lucia Báez-Geller took home the Democratic nomination for District 106 with 57% of the vote against lawyer Ashley Litwin Diego. She will face Republican incumbent Fabián Basabe in the general election, who was recently found liable for sexually harassing, battering and defaming two former House employees. He ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
HD 106 runs along a coastal strip of Miami-Dade encompassing Aventura, Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands, Fisher Island, Indian Creek, Miami Beach, North Bay Village, North Miami Beach, Sunny Isles Beach and Surfside.
Meanwhile, in District 108, former legislator Daphne Campbell won a three-way Democratic primary. She will face North Miami Republican Wancito Francius, who was uncontested in the Republican primary. HD 108 covers northeastern Miami-Dade County, including North Miami, El Portal, Biscayne Park, Miami Shores, and parts of Little Haiti and Wynwood.
In District 109, James Bush III won his ticket back to Tallahassee again after winning a four-way Democratic primary. Since no Republican qualified for the seat, the Democratic primary also counted as the general election for HD 109.
The win is a major comeback for Bush, who lost the seat to outgoing Rep. Ashley Gantt in 2022 and fell to her again in 2024. Gantt gave the seat up this year to run for Senate District 34.
HD 109 covers Miami Gardens, Opa-locka, Liberty City, West Little River and the unincorporated Brownsville, Gladeview and Pinewood neighborhoods in north Miami-Dade County.
Florida Senate
Miami Rep. Ashley Gantt will be the heavy favorite to succeed outgoing Sen. Shevrin Jones in Senate District 34 after winning a three-way Democratic primary in the deep-blue northeast Miami-Dade seat. She will face Republican Elizabeth Jeanty after Jeanty ran unopposed in her primary.
SD 34 covers northeast Miami-Dade County, including all or part of Bay Harbor Islands, Bal Harbour, Biscayne Park, El Portal, Miami Beach, Miami Shores Village, North Bay Village, North Miami, North Miami Beach, Opa-locka, Surfside and Miami Gardens, Florida’s most populous Black-majority city.
All of these candidates will be facing off in the general election on November 3. To vote, make sure your voter registration is up to date, and check where you are registered so you know all your voting options.
For more election coverage, check out our stories on federal elections, state legislative elections and local elections.