In Miami-Dade House races, Democrats Grieco and Polo triumph but GOP also flipped a seat

Once disgraced, Democrat Michael Grieco saw his political career saved on Tuesday by voters who elected him their representative to the Florida House. Javier Fernandez, a Democratic state House incumbent for just six months, will be a part of the legislative session in Tallahassee for the first time.

And Democratic newcomer Cindy Polo marked herself as a potential rising political star, turning a longtime state House GOP district in Northwest Miami-Dade County blue. The self-described stay-at-home mom, whose parents are Colombian immigrants, defeated the GOP’s selected candidate, Miami Lakes vice mayor Frank Mingo, relying in part on a hefty advantage in the portion of the district that includes Democrat-friendly Miramar in Broward County.

But the GOP turned the tables in another Miami-Dade House district. Democratic incumbent Robert Asencio, who won election two years ago in Republican-leaning District 118 in Kendall by a mere 53 votes, was narrowly defeated by Republican challenger Anthony Rodriguez.

Democrats were hoping an Election Day blue wave would help them erode the longstanding GOP majority in the Florida House by flipping several competitive district seats in Miami-Dade. But they were disappointed, at least in Miami-Dade, where the parties essentially traded seats. Democrats put on a stronger showing overall than in previous years, mounting close challenges in some traditionally GOP districts, but came up short.

In heavily Democratic District 113, which covers Miami Beach, parts of downtown Miami and Little Havana, and North Bay Village, Grieco trounced Republican Jonathan Parker. Just over a year ago, in October of 2017, Grieco stood before a judge as a criminal defendant. The former Beach commissioner pleaded no contest to criminal charges arising from a campaign finance scandal.

Voters’ comments suggested it may have been the district’s heavy Democratic leaning that led to his win. At Miami Beach’s North Shore Branch Library, Sylvia Nagy-Zekmi said she was reluctantly voting for Grieco.

“Grieco is the Democrat,” said Nagy-Zekmi, 65, as she pinched her nostrils shut with her left hand. “Sometimes you have to hold your nose.”

The GOP held on easily in several Republican-leaning districts, including the District 119 seat formerly held by Jeannette Nuñez, who ran for Florida Lieutenant Governor on the party gubernatorial ticket with Ron DeSantis. Republican Juan Fernandez-Barquin, an attorney, defeated Democrat Heath Rassner and independent Daniel E. Sotelo.

Districts that party leaders from both sides thought would be competitive turned out to be so.

In the District 105 seat vacated by Republican State Rep. Carlos Trujillo, a balanced district that Democrats hoped to flip, Doral Vice Mayor Ana Maria Rodriguez, the GOP candidate, defeated progressive Democrat Javier Estevez, the openly gay son of Cuban refugees, in a squeaker. The district stretches into Broward and Collier counties.

In another hoped-for Democratic pickup, heavily Cuban-American District 115, Republican Vance Aloupis retained the seat for the GOP over activist and repeat candidate Jeffrey Solomon — by a minuscule margin. The seat had been vacated by term-limited Republican Rep. Michael Bileca and was considered competitive.

In District 114, a swing district that stretches from Cutler Bay through portions of Pinecrest, West Miami, South Miami and Coral Gables, Republicans had hoped to snag back a seat that the incumbent, Fernandez, had only recently won.

Fernandez, an attorney and former chief of staff for ex-Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, had scored an upset win after Daisy Baez was charged with perjury for falsely claiming she resided inside the district on her voter registration. The GOP invested heavily in the campaign of challenger Javier Enriquez.

Other House race results in seats within Miami-Dade or encompassing portions of the county included:

In District 108 in eastern Miami-Dade, where the GOP did not put up a candidate, Democrat Dotie Joseph, an attorney and political newcomer, cruised to victory over the Libertarian Party’s Riquet Caballero.

In solidly Republican District 111, which includes parts of Hialeah, Virginia Gardens and Miami Springs, incumbent Bryan Avila easily won re-election over Democrat Rizwan Ahmed.

In District 112, which encompasses Key Biscayne, Brickell, Little Havana and parts of Coral Gables, incumbent Democrat Nick Duran retained his seat by defeating Republican Rosa Maria “Rosy” Palomino, a perennial candidate who also lost to Duran in 2016.

In District 116, which covers Doral, Kendall, Westchester and the Fontainebleau area and historically votes Republican, GOP incumbent Daniel Anthony Perez, an attorney who first took the seat in a special election last year, defeated Democratic challenger James Alexander Harden, a teacher.

In District 120, which covers Monroe County and part of southern Miami-Dade, GOP incumbent Holly Raschein beat Democrat Steve Friedman.

This story was originally published November 6, 2018 at 10:35 PM.