Political newcomers battling for House District 114 seat
TALLAHASSEE
Two political newcomers are vying to represent House District 114, a swath of Miami-Dade County that stretches north to south from just south of Miami International Airport all the way to Cutler Bay, but a key question remains: can local Republicans outperform President Donald Trump?
The race for House District 114, one of the open seats that House Democrats are trying to defend this election cycle, is pitting Democrat Jean-Pierre Bado, a 47-year-old attorney and U.S. Army veteran, against Republican Demi Busatta Cabrera, a 29-year-old who works for a nonprofit that helps adults with disabilities. Both candidates live in Coral Gables.
The seat, which was left vacant by state Rep. Javier Fernandez, a Democrat running for the Florida Senate, is intriguing Republicans who see the seat as flippable, in part because they held it up until 2016.
And, there is reason for their optimism.
In 2016, Democratic state Rep. Daisy Baez won the Hispanic-majority district with 50.9% of the vote, a much smaller margin than the five-point advantage Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton defeated Trump by in the district when both were at the top of the ticket.
This time around, the same dynamic is at play.
The race is expected to be heavily influenced by the presidential race between Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Plus, a new twist: the coronavirus pandemic.
In recent weeks, a whirlwind of events including Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis and several positive cases among members of his inner circle, have put back an emphasis on national politics and Trump’s handling of the pandemic, raising Democrats’ hopes that it may work in their favor in local races.
“I think it will absolutely resonate,” Bado said Monday. “It’s not a district where you have enough Democrats or Republicans to push forward a candidate, and the independents that I have talked to have almost universally told me to my face that the number one issue at the federal level is defeating Trump.”
Busatta Cabrera, a firsttime candidate who is married to Kevin Marino Cabrera, the Florida state director for Trump’s presidential campaign, is developing her own brand and keeping Trump’s campaign-style attacks on Democrats at arm’s length. She said that if elected, she will strive to work with Democrats.
“I’m always going to have an open door and a willingness to sit down at the table and work together,” Busatta Cabrera said. “Whatever the issue is, whatever the concern is, whatever the priority is,
I’m always willing to work with everyone to find common ground and figure out a solution.”
“I would like to look at everything through a bipartisan lens,” she added.
Like most legislative races, Miami-Dade’s
House race has been upended by the pandemic, which has disrupted the lives of the roughly 160,000 people who live in the district.
The virus stripped the candidates’ ability to rely on a robust ground game with volunteers and canvassers due to social distancing, and instead they have relied on yard signs, mail and digital advertisements to get the word out about their candidacy.
CONCERNS ABOUT COVID-19
The pandemic has also reshuffled the issues on the candidates’ priority list.
“COVID-19 in itself has rearranged the mathematics,” Bado said. “I think because of COVID-19 not just myself, but every single legislator should be going to Tallahassee with a clear understanding that we should fix that first.”
Bado and Busatta Cabrera agree that fixes need to be made to the state’s beleaguered unemployment system. The system failed amid an unprecedented wave of jobless claims because of the pandemic, leaving thousands of Floridians without work and unemployment relief.
Both have heard from constituents who have been impacted by the system’s failures, and said state lawmakers should work to revamp and modernize it in the upcoming legislative session.
When it comes to helping pandemic-battered small businesses in the district, the two candidates are taking different approaches.
Busatta Cabrera, if elected, would like to cut back on state regulations that stand in the way of small business owners, such as “reconfiguring a parking space or adding extra space in their lot,” she said.
“I think cutting back on unnecessary state regulations is important,” she added.
Bado, if elected, would like to push for more loan programs for small businesses. The amount of loan forgiveness would depend on the amount of revenues lost by the recipient, he said.
“With support from all levels of government, we can assist those businesses hardest hit by COVID-19,” Bado said, while adding that the state should step in with aid and not just rely on the federal government.
If elected, Bado would be a member of the minority party in the Florida House. With that dynamic in mind, he said he would plan to work with members of the Miami-Dade delegation to get things done.
“To me, there is already room for agreement,” he said. “What needs to happen is that as a MiamiDade caucus we have to be able to set aside differences for what is collectively good for our neighbors and our friends.”
The race for House District 114 between Democrat Jean Pierre Bado and Republican Demi Busatta Cabrera is entering the final stretch of campaign season.
THERE ARE OTHER ISSUES, TOO
Busatta Cabrera and Bado both noted their desire to work with people across the aisle on the issues dealing with improving water quality and sealevel rise in the region.
On issues unrelated to the pandemic, Bado said he supports an assault weapons ban, a proposal that in past years has gone nowhere in the GOP-dominated Legislature.
His military background would add a new perspective to the gun debate in the Legislature, he said.
“While in the Army, I was qualified to fire all different types of weapons of war from pistols to fighting vehicles to missiles to automatic grenade launchers. With that knowledge comes the knowledge that there should be devices that should not be readily available,” Bado said.
Busatta Cabrera, who works for the Association for the Development of the Exceptional in Miami, said that if elected, she would like to fight for more resources and funding to adults with developmental disabilities.
“That’s an issue that is definitely at the top of my list,” she said, “making sure that those with disabilities have the resources to be able to live to their full potential. It’s difficult in a time like now, when they have been the forgotten group to make sure that they are not the forgotten group.”
BADO AND BUSATTA CABRERA AGREE THAT FIXES NEED TO BE MADE TO THE STATE’S BELEAGUERED UNEMPLOYMENT SYSTEM.