Miami Beach residents will help decide two high-profile contests on Tuesday, Nov. 3, after the Aug. 18 countywide primary narrowed the fields for a state House seat and a Miami-Dade County Commission district covering parts of the city.
State House race heads to November
Former Miami-Dade School Board member Lucía Báez-Geller won the Democratic nomination for House District 106, receiving 4,700 votes, or 57.35%, to Ashley Litwin Diego's 3,496 votes, or 42.65%, according to preliminary results with 44 of 47 precincts reporting. Báez-Geller will face Republican incumbent Rep. Fabián Basabe, who had no primary opponent.
House District 106 spans northeast Miami-Dade's coastal communities, from Miami Beach to Aventura.
Basabe faces civil verdict, calls to resign
Basabe enters the general election after a Leon County jury found him liable in a civil case involving sexual harassment, battery and defamation and awarded $450,000 to the plaintiffs. The case involved allegations by former legislative staff members, and the jury's findings included claims involving a former aide and an intern, as well as defamation claims connected to former aide Nicolas Frevola and his mother.
Five of Miami Beach's seven commissioners later called for Basabe to resign. Basabe retained attorney Peter Ticktin to challenge the verdict and said he would continue serving his district while the legal process moves forward.
Campaign finance in the House race
Báez-Geller previously ran for Congress in 2024 and raised more than $324,000 during the House District 106 primary, including about $250,000 in candidate loans. The Florida House Republican Campaign Committee has committed nearly $150,000 to Basabe's reelection effort.
Miami-Dade Commission race heads to runoff
In Miami-Dade County Commission District 5, incumbent Commissioner Vicki Lopez led the three-candidate primary field but did not reach the majority required to win outright. Lopez received 7,011 votes, or 42.30%; retired Marine Corps Maj. Rob Piper received 4,887 votes, or 29.49%; and former Miami Commissioner Joe Sanchez received 4,676 votes, or 28.21%. Piper finished 211 votes ahead of Sanchez, advancing to a Nov. 3 runoff against Lopez.
District 5 includes parts of Miami Beach and the city of Miami, as well as Fisher Island. Its neighborhoods include South Beach and portions of Mid and North Beach, along with Downtown, Brickell, Little Havana, the Roads and Shenandoah.
Spending disparity marks commission race
The spending disparity in the race has been substantial. Lopez has raised more than $1.5 million across her campaign effort, according to the Miami Herald, while her political committee, Common Sense Government, raised $964,736; more than 70% of that committee's funding came from real estate-related companies and executives. Piper reported raising less than $3,000.
"It tells me money doesn't buy votes," Piper told the Miami Herald on election night. "Engagement and infrastructure does."
Partisan stakes and turnout
Lopez was appointed to the District 5 seat after Eileen Higgins resigned to run for Miami mayor. Although county commission races are officially nonpartisan, the runoff has partisan implications: The Miami Herald reported that a Piper win could give Democrats a majority on the 13-member commission.
Piper, 54, spent 23 years in the Marine Corps, including three combat tours in Iraq, and holds a doctorate in international relations from Florida International University. He has been endorsed by the Miami-Dade Democratic Party and Miami Beach Democrats.
Countywide turnout in the Aug. 18 primary was 18.67%, with 240,456 of 1,288,156 registered voters casting ballots. Results remain preliminary pending certification by the Miami-Dade Canvassing Board.
Both contests will be decided on the Nov. 3 general-election ballot: the House District 106 general election and the District 5 runoff.
