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Florida House of Representatives Primaries

Below are the state House of Representative from Miami-Dade who first have to win a primary race to be the party’s candidate in the November general election.

If there is no challenger, the race is not listed here.

To see which of these races apply to you, click “review your customized sample ballot” here, then type in your information. Scroll down to “Future elections” and click “sample ballot.”

District 107

District 108

District 112

District 113

District 114

District 115

District 118

 

House District 107 (Universal, not party specific)

Mary Estime-Irvin
This is Estime-Irvin’s first bid for public office. She runs the staffing and recruitment agency Estime & Irvin. She was born in New York City, but moved to North Miami as a child and studied at FIU after attending local high schools. She’s a member of the North Miami, Haitian-American, and Miami-Dade Chambers of Commerce as well as several North Miami civic organizations, such as the North Miami Community Redevelopment Agency.

Barbara Watson
Barbara Watson, the incumbent, was first elected to the House in 2011, in district 103 before the boundaries were redrawn. Prior to that she served on the Miami Gardens City Council and was vice mayor from 2007-09. She serves on the Pre-K12 appropriations subcommittee, education committee, criminal justice committee, and is a democratic ranking member of the rulemaking and regulations Committee. She has emphasized protecting the public education budget, employment training and job creation initiatives, support for seniors, and better funding for public safety and health care.

House District 108 (Universal, not party specific)

Taj Collie-Echoles
Collie-Echoles was born and raised in Liberty City. He took classes at Miami-Dade College while still in high school and got his B.A. in political science and public administration at Howard University in Washington. After graduating, he returned to Miami and worked in the public school system for 15 years, where he led programs to reduce youth gun violence. He is the president of the civic education organization Souls to Enroll, a member of 500 Role Models for Excellence, and United Teachers of Dade. He ran for the seat previously, but lost to Campbell.

Fayola Delica
Delica was the campaign organizer for Daphne Campbell, who is running for Senate in District 38 instead of reelection to the House. Delica is a Miami native and business owner, motivational speaker, and life coach. She graduated from the University of Florida with a B.S. in health science education and then went on to get a B.S. in nursing from the University of Miami. She worked in the healthcare industry for more than a decade and is a New Leaders Council fellow.

Moise Duge
Duge was born in the Dominican Republic and spent part of his childhood in Haiti before coming to Miami. He got his B.A. in political science and public administration from Florida A&M University, then went on to FIU to get his master’s degree in public administration at FIU. He’s interned in Tallahassee in both the state Senate and House and has taught in the Miami-Dade Public School System. He’s also a business owner. He cites the turbulences of the community — a lack of job and education opportunities and crime — as his motivation to run.

Roy Hardemon
Hardemon is the uncle of City of Miami Commissioner Keon Hardemon and has run in multiple state and local elections. He’s a community activist in Liberty City, working with an anti-poverty group called Liberty City Rising. No additional information publicly available.

Francesca Menes
Menes was born and raised in Miami, but her family relocated to Missouri during high school. When she graduated she returned to Florida to get her associate’s degree at Miami-Dade College and a bachelor’s degree in political science and women’s studies from FIU. She also has a master’s in public administration from FIU. After graduation she worked with AmeriCorps for two years at Catalyst Miami, and joined the Florida Immigrant Coalition in 2010. She is now the director of policy and advocacy there, leading legislative and policy campaigns. She was also the co-coordinator of Florida Wage Theft Task Force and led a state campaign to pass in-state tuition for undocumented students. She’s on the national steering committee for the Black Immigration Network.

Henry Patel
Patel was born and raised in India and moved to Miami in 1986. He owns the King Motel on Biscayne Boulevard and identifies as a business owner. He is on the Miami-Dade County Tourism Development Council and is on the board of Do The Right Thing, which awards Miami youth for “exemplary behavior, accomplishments, and good deeds.” As chairman of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association he fought on behalf of Gulf Coast hotels who lost business because of the BP oil spill.

Marie Steril
Steril immigrated to the US as a teenager and has lived in North Miami for more than 30 years. She received her associate’s degree from Miami-Dade College, her bachelor’s degree in social work at FIU, and her master’s in social work at Barry University. She served as the vice mayor and as a councilwoman for the City of North Miami for 10 years. She interned with AmeriCorps while in graduate school and later became a therapist, first with the Miami Institute for Family Centered Services and later with Saint Luke Recovery Center. She is a board member with the CRA of North Miami and founded her own nonprofit, Family Corners.

House District 112 (Democratic and Republican candidates)

Democrats:
Nick Duran
Duran earned a B.A. in Public Relations from the University of Florida, and a J.D. at the New York Law School. He has worked at a law firm, was a campaign manager for The Children’s Movement of Florida, and Florida’s director for Enroll America, a group that works to enroll people for health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act. He then served as executive director of the Florida Association of Free and Charitable Clinics. His priorities are children’s education, sea-level rise and climate change and expanding access to affordable healthcare.

Waldo Faura-Morales
Faura was born in Brooklyn and moved to Miami in 1975. He started a small business in Miami and has worked in everything from a mobile food equipment center to a roofing and construction company to a public adjusting firm. He’s a part of a number of civic organizations, including The Allapattah Chamber of Commerce, Miami Dade Vendors Society. Floridians in Action, Niño’s De la Luz Foundation for Autistic Children, Santa Barbara Catholic Church in Little Havana, and the Community Relations Board of Dade County 1994-2000. His priorities are economic growth, jobs, and education.

Republicans:
Michael W. Davey
Davey was born in New York and and raised in Chicago. He received his B.A. from Harvard University and his J.D. From Fordham University School of Law in New York. He worked at a law firm in New York before moving to Miami in 2003. He has been involved in movements on property rights, high school education, and was a councilman and vice mayor of the Village of Key Biscayne.

Rosy Palomino
Palomino is a lifelong Miamian. She has a B.A. from Florida International University. Previously she operated a medical-retail business, taught for 18 years at Citrus Grove Elementary in Little Havana, and is President of Tropical Nostalgia Inc., provider of Miami After Dark wines and gifts. She is the president of the Douglas Park Neighborhood Association. Her priorities are easing traffic, fostering job creation, and improving quality of life.

House District 113 (Democratic candidate)

David Richardson
Richardson, the incumbent, has been District 113 representative since 2014. He moved to Florida when he was 10 years old. He has his B.A. from the University of Central Florida in Biology and Accountancy and his MBA from the University of Tampa. He’s also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensed in Florida. He’s earned recognition for his work on juvenile justice issues and has pushed to lift a ban on local bans on styrofoam and plastic bags, like the one on Miami Beach. His priorities are identifying budgetary mismanagement so funds can improve schools, preserving the environment, and improving health care.

Rey Valdes
Info not found. No response to phone call.

House District 114 (Democratic candidate)

Daisy Baez
Baez was born and raised in the Dominican Republic. She moved to the US at 17 and served in the U.S.Army. She was assigned to the First Cavalry Division Surgeon’s’ Office in Fort Hood Texas. She has earned her B.S. in Social Work and her M.S. in Counseling Education. She has worked primarily in healthcare and founded and serves as the executive director of the Dominican Health Care Association of Florida. Her priorities are economic development, education reform, increasing safety and reducing crime, and healthcare legislative reform.

Alberto L. Santana
No info found. No response to phone call.

House District 115 (Democratic candidate)

Ross Hancock
Ross earned his B.A. from University of South Florida and has worked as an economic development consultant with the city of Coral Gables and the Vision Council, which worked in Homestead after Hurricane Andrew. He has been a board member of the Sierra Club Miami and is a member of the Miami Pine Rocklands Coalition and member of the Gray Panthers of South Dade. He currently works with sea-turtle safe lighting products with a Miami-based manufacturer. His main priority is protecting Florida’s environment and waterways.

Jeffrey Solomon
Solomon has run twice before, in 2010 and in 2012. He is a native Miamian, a business owner and a practicing physician. He received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Life Chiropractic College and a Diplomate in Sports Injuries from New York Chiropractic College. He previously served the president of the Florida Chiropractic Association, and American Chiropractic Association Sports Council.

House District 118 (Republican candidate)

Lynda Bell
Bell has an A.A. in Communications and a B.A. in Supervision and Management from Miami-Dade College. She previously has served as council member, vice mayor, and mayor of Homestead. She then served as county commissioner, served as the vice-chairman of the board, and on the board of the Metropolitan Planning Organization, but was defeated by current commissioner Daniella Levine-Cava. She is currently the president of the Florida Right to Life and is on the Florida Communities Trust.

Carlos Pria
Pria is a dentist that lives in Doral. No other information found. No response to phone call.

David Rivera
Rivera was born in New York, but has lived in Miami for the past 40 years. He has a BA in Political Science and an M.A. in Public Administration from Florida International University. He is a doctoral candidate and has been an adjunct professor in FIU’s School of International and Public Affairs. He previously served three terms in the Florida House of Representatives (for District 112) and served as the rules and appropriations chairman. He was a one-term US congressman from 2011 to 2013.

Anthony Rodriguez
Rodriguez was born and raised in Miami-Dade County. He currently owns and operates a business in Kendall. He is a board member with Miami-Dade Unsafe Structures and the Miami-Dade Small Business Enterprise Advisory. He’s involved with The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, a member of the Latin Chamber of Commerce of the USA (CAMACOL), and a member of the Community Association Institute. His priorities are lowering taxes, expanding jobs, reforming education, and strengthening public safety and law enforcement.

Steven Rojas Tallon
Tallon holds a B.A. in Political Science and an M.A. in Business Administration from Florida International University. He owns a small cake bakery in Miami. He is on a Miami-Dade County board that oversees the $2.8 billion general obligation bonds, which is a government-backed bond that promises to repay bond holders with any revenue possible. They’re often used for projects like roads, parks, equipment and bridge that serve the public. His priorities are lowering taxes, creating jobs and economic prosperity, and supporting small businesses.