Embattled Rep. Fabian Basabe wins race to keep Florida House seat

Republican Fabian Basabe will keep his seat in the Florida House of Representatives after defeating Democrat Joe Saunders on Tuesday.

Basabe, who faced multiple accusations of misconduct during his first term in office, received 51.3% of the vote in Florida House District 106, while Saunders, a former state representative, received 47%. Basabe won by about 3,200 votes.

Mo Saunders Scott, an aggrieved aunt of Saunders who ran as a non-party affiliated candidate despite a lawsuit by Saunders seeking to remove her from the ballot, got 1.7%.

The historically Democratic-leaning district includes Miami Beach and other coastal cities in northeast Miami-Dade County.

Basabe is a former socialite and reality TV star who won narrowly in 2022.

During his first term, Basabe was the subject of protests for siding with Gov. Ron DeSantis on culture war issues despite campaigning as a social moderate; faced an investigation into a legislative aide’s claim that Basabe slapped him in the face at an event; and faced a separate probe into sexual harassment claims by the same aide and a former intern.

Basabe, 46, denied the claims while accusing his former aides of having nefarious motives. Both investigations, conducted by law firms hired by the Florida House, were inconclusive. A lawsuit by the ex-aides is ongoing.

In late October, the Miami Herald reported that the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department was investigating a man’s claim that Basabe drugged and raped him in 2003. Basabe said the accusations were “baseless” and politically motivated ahead of the election.

Despite the series of controversies, Basabe’s campaign was backed by the Republican Party.

Saunders, 41, was elected to the Florida House to represent the Orlando area in 2012, when he and Miami Beach’s David Richardson became the first openly gay members of the Florida Legislature. Saunders narrowly lost his reelection campaign two years later to Rene Plasencia.

Saunders later became the senior political director for LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Florida, which took aim at Basabe for his alleged misconduct and voting record.

This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 7:50 PM.