Three years ago, U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart tooled around town in a comfortable Chrysler 300 with leather interior.

But after Hurricanes Wilma and Katrina tore through South Florida, he found he couldn't use his sedan to get to residents of the 8 ½-Square-Mile area in the Everglades or other far-flung parts of his district, which stretches south to Monroe County and west into Collier County.

So these days, the marketing-man-turned-politician drives a stick-shift Jeep Wrangler with cloth seats. ''It's not great on gas. It's not the lap of luxury. But it is a great car that allows me to go wherever I need to go,'' he said.

That take-charge, practical approach is a characteristic other lawmakers and supporters say is among Diaz-Balart's signature traits.

Another might be an unflappable style. With less than a month to go before the election, Diaz-Balart, 47, seems unfazed by questions about campaign contributions and a serious threat from a well-financed former chairman of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party.

''I don't get flustered,'' Diaz-Balart said.

But he did choke up when he recalled his 3-year-old son's battle to survive. Cristian Diaz-Balart was born five weeks premature with a heart defect and was hospitalized for four months until he could undergo open-heart surgery.

His father missed some votes during that time -- but not all.

``I would go up on votes where it was going to be close, the tough votes. Other than that, I tried to spend as much time as I could in the hospital.''

Compared to that, any campaign is easy, he said.

SAME SCHEDULE

''My schedule doesn't change much whether I am in an election or not. I am out there a lot,'' Diaz-Balart said between calls he takes on two cellphones. ``I am a strong, firm believer that answers come from real people here, not in D.C.''

Still, whether he is sweating it or not, observers say this is Diaz-Balart's first real fight to stay in office.

He began his public service career as an aide to Miami Mayor Xavier Suarez in 1985, the same year he changed his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican. He was first elected in 1988 in an unopposed race for the Florida House seat vacated by his older brother, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, who moved to the Florida Senate.

Mario Diaz-Balart then took his brother's seat in 1992 -- becoming the youngest person ever elected to the Florida Senate -- after Lincoln was elected to U.S. Congress.

The pattern prompts some critics to say that Mario Diaz-Balart -- who some detractors call ''Lincoln Lite'' -- rode his big brother's coattails into office. Still, he was named ''most effective legislator'' by The Miami Herald in 1996 when he was in the state Senate.

When he had to leave office because of term limits, Diaz-Balart went back to the state House, where he chaired the committee in charge of redrawing congressional district lines. There, he created a new district that many observers said was custom-made for him.

He won the new seat in 2002 and was reelected without opposition in 2004. Two years ago, he beat a relatively unknown Democrat.

But his opponent now, Joe Garcia -- former chairman of the state Public Service Commission and the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, and former executive director of the Cuban American National Foundation -- may present a tougher battle.

Both have campaign chests that top $1 million, according to the latest finance reports filed in August. Most of Diaz-Balart's funding -- almost $1.2 million -- has come from the defense industry and real estate and law firms, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

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