Miami-Dade Democrats have endorsed Lucia Báez-Geller for Florida House District 106, challenging Republican incumbent Fabián Basabe in the coastal district that stretches from Miami Beach north through Surfside, Bal Harbour, Sunny Isles Beach and Aventura.

A longtime public school teacher and former Miami-Dade County School Board member, Báez-Geller has spent much of her career working directly with the families she now hopes to represent in Tallahassee. Her campaign is focused on lowering the cost of living, strengthening public education, protecting reproductive freedom and pushing back against the divisive culture-war politics that have dominated Florida government.

From the Classroom to Public Service

Before entering elected office, Báez-Geller taught English and Language Arts at Miami Beach Senior High School for 15 years.

The daughter of a Cuban father and Colombian mother, she was raised by a single mother who worked multiple jobs and became the first member of her family to attend college. She later earned a master's degree in English Education and an Education Specialist degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Florida International University.

In 2020, voters elected Báez-Geller to the Miami-Dade County School Board with 61% of the vote. There, she became an outspoken advocate for traditional public schools, teachers and students as Tallahassee increasingly brought partisan political battles into local classrooms.

She fought for higher teacher pay, helped establish food pantries for students, promoted services for students experiencing homelessness and supported a restorative justice pilot program. She also consistently defended LGBTQ students and opposed efforts to inject partisan politics and religious doctrine into public education.

Those fights were not always easy or politically convenient. Báez-Geller was sometimes the lone vote on the School Board against policies she believed threatened inclusive, high-quality public education.

That record matters in Tallahassee.

Lowering Costs and Protecting Public Education

Báez-Geller is running at a time when South Florida families are struggling with housing costs, property insurance premiums, healthcare expenses and the everyday cost of raising a family.

Her campaign calls for addressing Florida's property insurance crisis and reducing the cost of basic necessities while protecting access to affordable healthcare. She has also made defending neighborhood public schools and supporting Florida teachers central to her campaign.

For Báez-Geller, these issues are connected. Her years as a teacher gave her a firsthand look at how housing insecurity, healthcare costs and economic instability affect children long before they enter the classroom.

She has also pledged to defend reproductive freedom and oppose the continued efforts by Tallahassee Republicans to restrict Floridians' ability to make their own healthcare decisions.

Basabe Promised Moderation. His Voting Record Told a Different Story.

When Fabián Basabe first ran for House District 106 in 2022, he presented himself as a different kind of Republican. He described himself as pro-choice, supportive of same-sex marriage and in favor of responsible gun legislation.

Once elected, however, Basabe repeatedly voted with the Republican majority on some of Tallahassee's most divisive legislation.

He supported legislation expanding restrictions on LGBTQ issues in public schools, backed permitless concealed carry and supported legislation targeting drag performances and restricting which bathrooms transgender Floridians can use in government buildings. He also supported legislation overriding local tenant protections, including Miami-Dade's Tenant Bill of Rights.

On abortion, Basabe did not cast a final vote on Florida's six-week abortion ban. But before leaving the vote, he opposed numerous Democratic amendments intended to reduce the law's impact, including proposals addressing its exceptions and support for rape crisis centers. He later blamed Democrats for the Republican supermajority's passage of the six-week ban.

His legislative effectiveness has also come under scrutiny. Since taking office, Basabe has been the prime sponsor of 36 bills and passed 10, with nine of those passing during the 2025 legislative session. Even Miami Beach officials have openly questioned whether their representative in Tallahassee has effectively represented the community's priorities.

The contrast with Báez-Geller is significant. While Basabe has spent much of his tenure navigating Tallahassee's partisan fights, Báez-Geller is offering a legislative agenda centered on the practical concerns facing families in District 106.

A Civil Jury Found Basabe Liable for Sexual Harassment and Battery

Basabe's legislative record is not the only reason voters should question whether he should continue representing District 106.

In July 2026, a Leon County jury found Basabe liable in a civil case brought by two former legislative staffers. The jury found him liable for sexual harassment, battery and defamation and awarded $450,000 in damages. Basabe has denied wrongdoing and is appealing the verdict.

The verdict was especially significant because Basabe had previously made what he called a "verbal contract" with his constituents, promising that if the allegations against him were ever proven true, he would resign.

He did not resign.

Instead, Basabe has argued that the legal process remains ongoing because he is appealing the civil verdict. A judge has already rejected his requests to vacate the verdict or reduce the damages. Five of Miami Beach's seven commissioners have called for him to step down, and several officials who previously supported his reelection have withdrawn their endorsements.

The Choice in House District 106

Voters in District 106 have a clear choice.

Fabián Basabe asked voters to trust that he would be an independent and moderate voice in Tallahassee. His record instead includes support for some of the Legislature's most divisive policies, a limited record of legislative accomplishments and now a civil jury verdict finding him liable for sexual harassment, battery and defamation.

Lucia Báez-Geller offers a different approach.

She spent 15 years teaching students in the community. She served on the Miami-Dade County School Board. She has stood up for public education even when doing so meant standing alone, and she has made affordability, healthcare, reproductive freedom and protecting Florida's public schools central to her campaign.

District 106 deserves a representative focused on the everyday challenges facing its residents and willing to stand up to Tallahassee when state government puts ideology ahead of local communities.

The Miami-Dade Democratic Party has endorsed Lucia Báez-Geller for Florida House District 106.

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