Miami-Dade Commissioner Vicki Lopez is hitting the terrestrial and digital airwaves this week with a new $100,000 ad buy highlighting her legislative record as she seeks to keep her District 5 seat at County Hall.
In the 30-second spot, running in both English and Spanish, Lopez references her work as a state lawmaker passing legislation focused on condo safety, boating safety, workforce housing provisions and the Live Local Act while securing millions in appropriations for her district.
She has continued to work on those and otherimportantissues since her appointment last year to the 13-member County Commission, and she wants to see those efforts through during a full four-year term, she says in the ad, which follows a five-figure ad buy last month.
“I wasn’t born into politics. I was born into a family that believed in hard work, community, and the idea that if you show up and fight for people, things get better,” Lopez says.
“That’s why I fought in Tallahassee for better housing so working people could afford to stay in Miami. It’s why I pushed to make our quality of life better. Now, I’m asking for your trust to keep fighting as your elected Miami-Dade County Commissioner for District 5. From South Beach to Little Havana, from Brickell to the Miami River, this is our home and it’s worth fighting for.”
Lopez carries substantial financial might and ample support in the District 5 race.
Since she joined the panel late last year, Lopez has raised about $1.4 million. She has also received endorsements from Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz, Miami Commissioners Christine King and Miguel Gabela, all five Miami Beach Commissioners, former Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber and a slew of union and advocacy organizations, including the South Florida AFL-CIO, AFSCME, SEIU 32BJ, Metro Dade Firefighters, the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, Associated Builders and Contractors and Miami Realtors PAC.
Lopez faces two challengers: fellow Republican Joe Sanchez, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper and former Miami City Commissioner who ran unsuccessfully for Sheriff in 2024, and Democratic Rob Piper, a Marine Corps veteran who led a 2020 recall PAC targeting former Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo and was one of eight candidates who ran for the City Commission last year.
Sanchez was one of a few applicants vying for the District 5 seat Lopez took last year. Piper previously worked as a Florida House staffer.
Because County Commission contests are technically nonpartisan, all three candidates will appear on the Aug. 18 Primary ballot.
To win, a candidate must receive more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate in a given race does so, the top two vote-getters will advance to a runoff in the Nov. 3 General Election.
