Politics
Bruno Barreiro seeks House return as Gloria Romero Roses aims to flip HD 113
Republican Bruno Barreiro has spent decades representing Miami-Dade County residents. Democrat Gloria Romero Roses is making the case that her experience in business and affordable housing better prepares her to tackle the cost of living there.
Their Nov. 3 contest for House District 113 will determine whether Republicans can hold a seat they’ve held for four years without its incumbent, former Rep. Vicki Lopez, or if Democrats can regain ground in a district that swung sharply right in 2024.
HD 113 includes Key Biscayne and portions of Coral Gables and Miami, encompassing Brickell, Downtown, Little Havana, Coconut Grove, Shenandoah, Virginia Key and PortMiami.
Lopez left the House last November for a Miami-Dade Commission seat Democrat Eileen Higgins vacated to successfully run for Miami Mayor. Gov. Ron DeSantis refused to call a Special Election in the interim, leaving residents without a House member through this year’s Regular Session and multiple Special Sessions.
The district has trended rightward in recent years. Republicans now account for 33% of HD 113’s 78,384 registered voters, compared with Democrats’ 28% share, according to the county’s Oct. 1 registration report.
Third- and no-party voters constitute the largest bloc, at 39%.
Lopez won the previously Democratic seat by 2 percentage points in 2022 and secured re-election with nearly 55% of the vote in 2024.
President Donald Trump carried the district by roughly 5 points that year, according to MCI Maps, after former President Joe Biden won it by 12 points in 2020.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee identified HD 113 as a pickup target in August.
Barreiro, a 60-year-old home healthcare executive, served in the House from 1992 to 1998, chairing its Tourism Committee, before spending 20 years on the County Commission, including as Chair.
He subsequently pursued unsuccessful congressional and legislative bids, briefly sought a Miami Commission seat and unsuccessfully applied for the county vacancy Lopez filled.
Ahead of the Primary, which he won with 42% of the vote, Barreiro told the Coconut Grove Spotlight his experience would help him deliver state funding and curb overdevelopment. He criticized the Live Local Act for encouraging construction without adequate infrastructure and said priorities include toll relief, traffic mitigation, public safety and condo safety reform.
His lengthy record reveals some liabilities. A 2007 Miami New Times review found he had the County Commission’s poorest attendance record and had filed the fewest proposed legislative items. It also recounted his nickname in the Legislature, “El Mudo” (The Mute), for his penchant for silence amid policy discussions.
The Miami Herald editorial board also flagged his 2009 support for the Miami Marlins stadium financing agreement, which imposed roughly $2 billion in long-term taxpayer debt.
Barreiro’s backers include the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, Florida Professional Firefighters, South Florida Council of Firefighters, Florida Nurses Association, Associated Industries of Florida, Florida Realtors PAC and Brickell Homeowners Association.
Romero Roses, 55, invests in businesses and previously owned an assisted living operation she sold in 2020. Her background also includes work in affordable housing development and grant administration.
She ran for Congress in 2012, losing a Democratic Primary to Joe Garcia.
Romero Roses proposes lowering Live Local’s workforce housing income ceiling to $75,000, financing affordable developments, enabling construction on small vacant parcels and accelerating permitting.
Her policy priorities include boosting Florida’s affordable housing inventory, supporting development considerate of local character, expanding access to affordable healthcare and childcare, reforming insurance and improving coastal resiliency.
Her endorsers include former U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala, Florida Senate Democratic Leader Lori Berman, Florida House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, County Commissioner Oliver Gilbert and former CFO Alex Sink.
The Florida AFL-CIO, Florida Education Association, United Teachers of Dade, Latino Victory Project, Ruth’s List, SAVE Action PAC and the Miami Herald editorial board also support her.
Through Oct. 9, Barreiro raised $122,000 across his campaign account and political committee, lent his campaign $399,000 and had about $104,000 left. The Republican Party of Florida supplied another $98,000 in polling, research and staffing.
Romero Roses raised $216,000 through her campaign account and political committee and lent her campaign $77,500. She received over $49,000 in in-kind support, largely self-provided, with roughly $5,500 coming from the Florida Democratic Party for staffing expenses.
She had about $81,500 with less than a month before Election Day.
Write-in candidate Paola Vazquez del Mercado, a former Univision host who describes herself as a consultant and U.S.-Mexico policy analyst, is also running.
She’s advocating for financial transparency, public safety and environmental protection.
Vazquez del Mercado filed to run in May but has submitted no finance reports since, prompting 21 failure-to-file notices from the Division of Elections warning of possible civil penalties.
Florida Politics ranked the HD 113 contest ninth on its list of the 11 South Florida races to watch heading into the General Election.
The post Bruno Barreiro seeks House return as Gloria Romero Roses aims to flip HD 113 appeared first on Florida Politics – Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government..