A liberal novice tries to shake the GOP’s house. Can the conservative heir hold it?

BY ANDRES VIGLUCCI

aviglucci@miamiherald.com

For many an election cycle, the Florida House district that stretches from northern Doral to western Miramar has been a safe Republican seat, anchored by Cuban-American voters who reliably turn out for conservative candidates.

This November would seem no different: House District 103 is an open seat, with term-limited incumbent Manny Diaz Jr. running for the state Senate, but the smoothly functioning GOP alliance that has dominated the district has a well-financed, politically tested designated heir in Frank Mingo. The vice mayor of Miami Lakes, a five-year veteran of the town council, took the party’s nomination without opposition.

But can a political neophyte and stay-at-home mom, running a shoestring campaign on a pointedly liberal platform, upend years of precedent and the GOP’s succession plan?