Set to become Florida House speaker, Miami’s Daniel Perez still draws GOP primary
In the years after they won leadership races to become future speakers of the Florida House, neither Steve Crisafulli, Richard Corcoran, Jose Oliva nor Chris Sprowls faced primary challenges from other Republicans.
Daniel Perez was not so lucky.
Just months after Perez’s colleagues backed him in a competitive race to become the likely Florida House speaker in 2024, the 33-year-old, two-term incumbent from Miami-Dade County drew an opponent from the right in Florida’s House District 116, which includes parts of Doral, Westchester and Kendall. His rival in the Aug. 18 primary is the ardently pro-Trump Gabriel Garcia.
The challenge is unusual: it’s been eight years since a Republican in line to become Florida House speaker was forced to run a primary campaign. And adding to the intrigue, Garcia’s candidacy has been promoted by a political committee that has attacked Perez while receiving $400,000 raised by outgoing House Speaker Oliva.
“I’ve read the articles concerning my primary opponent and the special interests behind him. Although it came as a surprise, I have been focused on earning the trust of the voters,” Perez wrote in a text message.
Oliva, R-Miami Lakes, recently told Politico that the money donated to the Citizens for Ethical and Effective Leadership political committee from Oliva’s own political committee has been spent on efforts to “educate” voters about Miami-Dade mayoral candidate Alex Penelas. Citizens for Ethical and Effective Leadership has spent roughly $300,000 the last month on expenses tied to the mayor’s race, and received $135,000 in mid-June from sources other than Oliva, according to state records.
But in addition to spending money on the mayor’s race, the political committee — chaired by the vice president of the consulting firm run by David Custin, an Oliva adviser working on Garcia’s campaign — has also distributed mailers and Facebook ads attacking Perez over a trip he took in 2017 to Cuba with his then-fiancee, during which they snapped engagement photos. And it has published at least one mailer promoting the 39-year-old Garcia, who says on his website that he is running because “Daniel Perez does not share our Republican or exile community’s values.”
Garcia, who will likely need substantial resources to beat Perez, told the Miami Herald he was out of town visiting family and unavailable for an interview. In a text message, he acknowledged the difficulties in challenging a powerful incumbent.
“I am a lifelong, loyal Republican, challenging an incumbent who has more resources than I do,” wrote Garcia, a principal of contractor Supreme Aluminum Florida. “I welcome and appreciate help and support from a political committee and anyone that shares my values, so that voters receive facts, my message, and are able to make an informed decision during this election.”
Garcia’s website says he is a retired U.S. Army captain and recipient of the Bronze Star, awarded for acts of heroism or meritorious achievement in the line of duty. It says he served in South Korea and Iraq, and lives in Westchester with his wife and three children. Garcia also lists himself as a member of Latinos for Trump, a different organization from the Trump campaign’s Hispanic outreach arm by the same name.
Garcia’s lone fundraising report to the state shows the only money received by his campaign through June 12 was a $3,000 self-loan, half of which was used to pay the qualifying fee to make the ballot. A subsequent report, due last Friday, has not been posted on the Florida Division of Elections website. But Garcia’s campaign appears to have received enough money to fund a commercial to introduce his candidacy: A supporter posted a “behind-the-scenes” video last week purportedly of an ad being filmed in Garcia’s home.
Perez, meanwhile, has not been idle. The attorney has raised roughly $200,000 since February of last year, and spent at least $160,000. And last week, after Perez was hit with several attack ads, his campaign announced an endorsement from Republican Cuban-American U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. On Twitter, the incoming Republican House speaker, Sprowls, referred to Perez as “a dynamic young leader who will do great things not only for Miami-Dade but for all of Florida.”
“We are in unprecedented times that require our elected officials to focus on regaining our economic strength, support our local small businesses and keep our community safe — all while pushing back on a radical, far-left socialist agenda that threatens the very fabric of our nation and state,” Perez, who turned down an interview, wrote in a text message. “This has been my focus during the three years I’ve had the honor to serve on behalf of District 116 and I look forward to earning their trust this election once again.”
Recent history is a bit ominous: The last state Representative to draw a primary challenge while in line to become Florida House Speaker, Chris Dorworth of Lake Mary, fended off two Republican primary opponents in 2012 — but ultimately lost his seat to a Democrat that November.
Perez, though, has already won two straight Republican primaries, including a contentious special election in 2017 that he won by 10 points over Jose Mallea, who worked for Rubio’s 2010 Senate campaign. And he represents a conservative-leaning district, meaning a primary that pushes him to the right is less likely to harm him in a general election if he survives the primary to face Democratic candidate Bob Lynch in November.
Juan-Carlos Planas, a former Miami Republican state representative, said the effort to undercut Perez appears to be the latest in a series of inter-party fights among Miami Republicans that includes a 2006 battle that cost then-Sen. Alex Villalobos the Florida Senate presidency. But Planas questioned the wisdom behind attacking a politician who is in line to become one of the most powerful people in Florida politics.
“It’s baffling to even try to contemplate what the end game is. And it’s baffling to contemplate how stupid it would be if they don’t have an end game,” he said. “If you’re going to do this, you go for the jugular.”
This story was originally published July 7, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
