With Gov. Ron DeSantis yet to call a special election for Miami-Dade’s HD 113 seat, five candidates reported $267,000 in Q1 fundraising as campaigns race ahead of the nomination fight.
Five candidates vying for Miami-Dade’s vacant House District 113 seat collectively raised about $267,000 in the first quarter—even as Gov. Ron DeSantis has not yet scheduled a special election for the seat left by Republican Vicki Lopez.
As of Monday. no special election date has been set. five months after Lopez stepped down to join the county commission in November.. For candidates. the absence of a formal calendar deadline hasn’t slowed fundraising; it has. in effect. shifted the fight into the early primary contest—where cash can buy name recognition. staffing. and the infrastructure needed to move quickly the moment a date is announced.
That fundraising surge is spread across both parties, but the Democratic effort is showing its own internal momentum.. Democrat Gloria Romero Roses led the pack with more than $138,000 raised between Jan.. 1 and March 31.. Much of it—about $90. 000—came through a self-loan that. if not spent. is refundable. a detail that underscores a common strategy in lower-profile races: candidates bankroll themselves to build early visibility while retaining flexibility.
Her closest Democratic competitor. finance and politics professional Justin Mendoza Routt. brought in nearly $60. 000 and. like Romero Roses. listed “Blue Team” names among key contributors.. In the Republican primary. real estate professional Frank Lago emerged with nearly $58. 000. while former Miami-Dade Commissioner Bruno Barreiro raised about $10. 000 and Tony Diaz collected roughly $7. 500.
The district itself helps explain why the money is clustering quickly.. HD 113 covers a central swath of Miami-Dade County. including all of Key Biscayne and parts of Coral Gables and Miami—down to Virginia Key and PortMiami. one of the county’s principal economic engines alongside Miami International Airport.. In a place where business. development. tourism. logistics. and city politics often overlap. campaign networks and donor relationships can translate into outsized influence. particularly once voters start paying attention to a vacancy.
The political complexion of the district is also part of the calculus.. Recent cycles have pushed the seat more Republican. and registered Republicans now outnumber Democrats slightly. while unaffiliated voters remain the largest group.. That split matters because a special election—when it finally arrives—tends to compress campaign timelines and heighten the importance of early persuasion.. In other words. cash raised now is not only for the primary; it can also be repurposed for the general election battle if the candidates survive the nomination.
For Romero Roses, the ledger paints a campaign building both conventional political ties and operational capacity.. Her Q1 totals included 190 contributions across her campaign account and a political committee. Move Miami Forward-Pal’ante Miami. along with about $7. 300 in in-kind support. most of it self-provided for office expenses. staff costs. and an event ticket.. She reported roughly $206. 000 collected through the end of March. with $122. 500 self-loaned. and entered April with about $170. 000 on hand—an indication that she wasn’t starting the year “behind” and is using the vacancy moment to lock in early dominance.
Her spending. too. reflects the mechanics of modern state-level campaigning: about $36. 200 in Q1. including payments for design and printing services. campaign communications. and text messaging. alongside staff costs. software. compliance. and accounting.. The donor list includes a mix of local officeholders. former officials. and industry-linked interests. including several real estate organizations and prominent Democratic-leaning names.. It’s a familiar coalition—designed to reassure both voters and funders that the candidate can navigate local power centers.
Mendoza Routt’s campaign. by contrast. shows a more donor-backed pattern with a smaller base of self-funding relative to the overall haul.. He reported nearly 80 contributions in Q1 and has raised more than $75. 500 through his campaign and political committee. Friends of JMR. with $35. 000 self-loaned.. After spending about $7,000, he entered April with around $68,000 on hand.. His biggest personal check last quarter came from a U.S.. commercial lead at Palantir Technologies. and his spending emphasis leaned toward digital advertising and direct mail consulting—tools often used to quickly build audience reach when media coverage is limited.
On the Republican side. Lago’s fundraising looks like the kind that typically comes from established networks rather than brand-new political momentum.. He received more than 50 donations in Q1, with a heavy share from real estate and government relations.. The campaign also benefited from political committee support tied to figures with institutional influence in Florida Republican politics. along with sizable checks from business-linked donors.. His spending included voter outreach and web design services, along with payments for consulting and campaign materials.. The structure suggests a candidate positioning for the moment when voters decide they want “continuity” over disruption.
Barreiro and Diaz show different patterns—both smaller and more personalized.. Barreiro reported almost $117. 000 raised between his campaign and political committee. with all but $17. 000 coming from self-loans. and he ended Q1 with about $93. 300 left after spending more than $24. 000.. Diaz. meanwhile. spent far more than he raised in Q1 after inviting opponents to policy planning meetings in January. suggesting an effort to define the race on substance while still trying to build financial runway.
There’s also an interpretive layer in the most unusual details of the campaigns’ financial choices: self-loans. refundable funding strategies. and the mix of industry donors across both parties.. These are not just accounting entries; they indicate how candidates expect to survive the next stage—whether that’s a faster-than-expected election call. a crowded field that turns into a turnout battle. or internal party dynamics that can shift as endorsements and alliances form.
The next reporting milestone is June 10. but candidates are facing a nearer deadline—an April 10 requirement to report activities through March 31.. With no special election date in sight yet. the early takeaway for HD 113 is clear: money is moving now. not later.. And when DeSantis eventually sets a date. these Q1 totals will likely become more than a snapshot—they’ll be used to justify momentum. build credibility. and. ultimately. convert early attention into votes.