Miami-Dade County Commissioner Vicki Lopez flexed her fundraising might in the first quarter of 2026, stacking nearly $589,000 toward keeping her District 5 seat — more than eight times as much as her lone challenger.
Between Jan. 1 and March 31, Lopez received about $179,200 through her campaign account and another $409,400 through her state-level political committee, Common Sense Government.
The haul was the most of any Miami-Dade Commission candidate last quarter.
She also spent about $25,000 on accounting fees, staffing, printing, bank fees, donation-processing fees and a $1,000 contribution to the re-election campaign of Miami-Dade School Board Vice Chair Monica Colucci.
Since being appointed to the District 5 seat by her County Commission peers in mid-November, Lopez has amassed $727,000.
With carry-over funds in her PC from prior cycles, she had $840,500 heading into April.
Lopez faces a challenge from fellow Republican Joe Sanchez, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper and former Chair of the Miami City Commission who was one of five applicants for the November appointment, including Lopez.
Roughly a month after being passed over, Sanchez filed to challenge Lopez this year.
He raised about $73,000 last quarter, his first full quarter of fundraising, between his campaign account and political committee, Law and Order PC.
He also spent close to $29,000 on business cards, door hangers, T-shirts, website costs, event expenses, political consulting, social media consulting and advertising, printing, parking and donation-processing fees.
Since his unsuccessful 2024 bid for Miami-Dade Sheriff, Sanchez has raised more than $137,000. He had nearly $106,000 left by April 1.
Lopez leaned heavily on real estate contributions last quarter. A third of her PC gains and a quarter of the donations she received through her campaign account came from developers, property managers, investors and other industry interests.
That included $25,000 from Related Group-associated companies and the same sum from Bluenest Development, the current leading developer of active residential projects in Miami-Dade suburbs, according to the Miami Herald, which reported that the company collectively gave $190,000 to Miami-Dade Commission candidates last quarter alone.
Coral Gables-based real estate investor Michael Wohl gave Lopez $25,000 too. Another locally based company, 13th Floor Investments, chipped in $15,000. Developer Swerdlow Group, construction company Lemartec Corp. and the Fisher Island Community Association each gave $10,000.
Other big contributions included $24,000 from Miami-based consulting firm LSN Partners and $10,000 apiece from Ohio-based mining assets company Bioch, New Jersey-based government relations firm Henderson Scott and Fight For Our Future, the political committee of Miami-Dade Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins, a Democrat.
Sanchez, who credited musician Roberto Torres with contributing $1,000 worth of in-kind aid for event entertainment, relied on a mixture of personal checks and corporate contributions last quarter.
Several law enforcement officers also gave to him, as did donors from the health care industry.
But some of his biggest donations were also from real estate: $10,000 from New York City-based Goldman Properties, $4,800 from 17 companies tied to South Florida real estate investor Ruben Gonzalez and $2,000 from North Miami-based Gateways Corp.
He also received $5,000 from Miami health care company Univida Medical Centers, $3,500 from Miami handyman services company Busy Man and $2,000 from Coconut Creek-based Waste Management Inc. of Florida.
District 5 covers parts of Miami and Miami Beach, including the neighborhoods of Brickell, Downtown Miami, Little Havana, Miami River, Mid Beach, The Roads, Silver Bluff, Shenandoah, South Beach and West Flagler.
Democrat Eileen Higgins represented the district at County Hall between 2018 and November 2025, when she vacated her post for a successful — and historic — run at the Miami mayoralty.
The Miami-Dade Commission is technically nonpartisan, as are its elections, meaning that if no other candidate files for the District 5 race, it will be decided in the Aug. 18 Primary.
The General Election is on Nov. 3.
