Democratic rivals Lucia Báez-Geller, Ashley Litwin Diego outraise GOP incumbent in HD 106

Two Democrats competing to face Republican Rep. Fabián Basabe in this year’s General Election have been outpacing him in fundraising, with both tapping grassroots donors while he accepts real estate and political dollars.

Former Miami-Dade County School Board member Lucia Báez-Geller and lawyer Ashley Litwin Diego were neck-and-neck during the April-May period, when both exceeded $57,000 in gains.

Basabe, who is seeking a third term representing House District 106 in northeast Miami-Dade, took in just over $14,000 between April 1 and June 12 — a period 12 days longer than Florida Politics analyzed for the Democratic candidates, as Basabe filed his campaign finance reports early ahead of Friday’s deadline.

Báez-Geller slightly edged out her Primary foe, amassing $58,400 through her campaign account. However, $50,000 of that sum came through a self-loan that is fully refundable if unspent.

She collected nearly 130 contributions, most for less than $100 and all but two of them personal checks. Among them: $2,000 from Justin Mendoza Routt, President of the Miami-Dade Young Democrats and candidate for nearby House District 113; $200 from architect-historic preservationist Richard Heisenbottle; $150 from Marika Lynch, Communications Director for the Miami Foundation; $25 from Key Biscayne Dems President Jackie Gross-Kellogg, who ran for HD 113 last cycle; and $10 from Miami Beach City Commissioner Tanya Katzoff Bhatt.

Báez-Geller’s largest single contribution was a $2,000 donation from Leadership for South Florida, the political committee of South Miami Mayor Javier Fernández.

South Florida-based Teamsters Local 769 gave $1,000.

Baez-Geller spent close to $44,000 last period. The largest share, about $19,000, went to Plantation-based Sunshine Strategies.

Miami-based Skala Connections took in $13,935 for broadcast and media work, while Palm Media was paid $5,000 for campaign consulting.

Voter-contact platform Upvote in Miami collected $3,500, while Accurate Business Systems Inc. received $689 for printing and promotional products.

By June 1, Báez-Geller had about $309,000 remaining, of which $250,000 was self-loaned.

Litwin Diego, meanwhile, collected $57,300 through her campaign account and political committee, Friends of Ashley Litwin Diego, including a $10,000 self-loan.

She received 95 personal checks, with notable contributions including $5,000 from North Florida interior designer and philanthropist Sallyn Pajcic, $250 from Planet Harvest CEO Melissa Ackerman and $1,000 from former Florida Democratic Party Chair Stephen Bittel, who resigned in 2017 after multiple women accused him of improper behavior.

Topping the list of Litwin Diego’s givers, moneywise, was Accountable Miami-Dade, the county-level political committee of former Sen. Annette Taddeo, who is now running for CFO.

She also received $5,000 from Miami-Dade Safe & Secure, the political committee of Miami City Manager James Reyes.

Both PCs are managed by consultant Christian Ulvert, who is working on Litwin Diego’s campaign.

She spent close to $62,000 last period, the largest share of which — $33,000 — went to consultant Michael Worley’s Plantation-based MDW Communications for direct mail consulting, digital ad buys, polling and research, and texting and email services.

Ulvert’s Edge Communications and Win Canvass companies received more than $20,000 combined for advertising, outreach and canvassing.

Litwin Diego also paid $5,000 to GW Strategies in Miami Shores Village for fundraising consulting and about $2,800 to Miami-based Good Catch for campaign apparel.

She ended May with more than $101,000, of which $35,000 was self-loaned.

While Basabe’s funding haul was comparatively meager, it’s not for no reason; much of his activity between April and mid-June was bankrolled by the Florida House Republican Campaign Committee, which spent more than $32,000 on telephone calls and various other services earmarked as “campaign consulting.”

He received just nine personal checks through his campaign account and political committee, Common Sense For Government, including $1,000 from former Miami Beach Commissioner Ricky Arriola, who was censured in 2021 by the Miami-Dade Democratic Party — which he has since left for the Reform Party of Florida — for spreading COVID falsehoods and comparing the Jan. 6 riot to Black Lives Matter protests.

David Wallack, owner of Mango’s Tropical Café, gave $1,000 directly and the same amount through his business.

Former Miami Beach Commission candidate Luidgi Mary gave $100.

Basabe also received $5,000 from five companies associated with developer Russell Galbut’s Crescent Heights firm and $2,000 from the political-giving arm of lobbying firm Florida Partners.

Basabe spent more than $32,000 between April 1 and June 12, with a notable share covering self-reimbursements. He repaid himself more than $10,000 for advertising, campaign signs, office supplies, food, beverage, fuel, website costs and postage.

Tallahassee-based PAC Financial Management collected nearly $11,000 for treasurer services and advertising reimbursement processing, while printing costs through Union Printing & Signs and Union Printing, Inc. totaled roughly $5,400.

Basabe also paid about $1,6000 to SIMwins for printing and data services and spent another $1,782 on qualifying fees.

He held $32,500 by June 13, of which $16,000 were self-loans.

HD 106 which covers a coastal strip of Miami-Dade between Miami Beach and Aventura. It remains among Florida’s most flippable districts, having gone to President Donald Trump by 9 percentage points in 2024 and to former President Joe Biden four years earlier by 10 points, according to MCI Maps.

Candidates faced a June 10 deadline to report all campaign finance activity through May 31.

The Primary is Aug. 18, followed by the General Election on Nov. 3.