The race to replace Rep. Vicki Lopez in House District 113 has its first two candidates: Republican small-business owner Tony Diaz and Democratic finance and politics pro Justin Mendoza Routt .
Diaz, 31, is running to keep the HD 113 — which represents a coastal Miami-Dade County district spanning Key Biscayne and several notable Miami neighborhoods — seat red.
Mendoza Routt, 36, hopes to flip it back to blue.
Diaz’s candidacy comes fresh off a loss in a short-run sweepstakes for the District 5 seat on the Miami-Dade County Commission that Lopez won Tuesday, when the panel voted 7-5 to appoint her over four others who applied for the post.
For work, he owns a printing and advertising space. He also recently opened a fruit tree nursery.
Diaz promises, if elected, to forgo pol

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