José Félix Díaz (born January 16, 1980) is a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. He served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 to 2017, representing parts of Miami-Dade County. He resigned from the House in 2017 to run for a special election to the Florida Senate, but was not elected.

History

Díaz was born in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

and attended St. Brendan High School, after which he attended the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

, where he received a degree in political science and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

in 2002. He then received his Juris Doctor from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

in 2005, and moved back to

, where he was a losing contest on

Season 5 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

of ''

The Apprentice ''The Apprentice'' is a reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States. Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with various professional backg ...

''. After leaving the show, Díaz began working for

Akerman LLP Akerman LLP is a law firm based in Miami, Florida that was founded in 1920. Scott Meyers is the chairman and CEO.

as an attorney specializing in commercial litigation and zoning and land use. From 2006 to 2010, he served as a member of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of aca ...

House of Delegates.

Florida House of Representatives

2010-2012

In 2010, when incumbent State Representative

Juan-Carlos Planas Juan-Carlos "J.C." Planas (born July 17, 1970 in Miami, Florida) is a former Florida Republican politician who served as the District 115 representative in the Florida House of Representatives from 2002-2010 before having to retire due to Florid ...

was unable to seek re-election, Díaz ran to succeed him in the 115th district, which narrowly stretched from Doral to

Cutler Ridge Cutler Bay is an incorporated town in Miami-Dade County, Florida established in 2005, with a population of approximately 45,425 as of 2020. With 45,425 people, Cutler Bay is in 9th place of the top 10 most populous municipalities of the 34 m ...

in Miami-Dade County. He faced Kendall Community Councilwoman Carla Ascencio-Savola in the

primary, and he campaigned on improving the quality of living in the district, noting, "It's an important time to make this area, this district, better. People have lost confidence in where they live," and on his lack of experience in politics, declaring, "People have rallied around the fact that I'm not the same-old, same-old in the district." Ultimately, Díaz defeated Ascencio-Savola by a comfortable margin, winning 60% of the vote to her 40%. He advanced to the general election, where he was opposed by Jeffrey Solomon, the Democratic nominee and Christopher Blau, the

Tea Party A tea party is a social gathering event held in the afternoon. For centuries, many societies have cherished drinking tea with a company at noon. Tea parties are considered for formal business meetings, social celebrations or just as an afternoon ...

nominee. Neither of his opponents proved to be a significant obstacle, however, and Díaz easily defeated both of them in a landslide, winning 64% of the vote to Solomon's 33% and Blau's 3%.

2012-2017

When the state's legislative districts were redrawn in 2012, Díaz was drawn into the 116th district, which contained most of the territory that he had previously represented in the 115th district. He faced fellow State Representative Ana Rivas Logan in the

primary, and an extremely contentious election ensued. Díaz accused Logan of having her campaign workers tell voters that he was gay, was "pro-abortion" and "voted for a 15-percent increase" in university tuition, while Logan alleged that Díaz's campaign made calls to voters in the district, telling them, "Don't vote for her. She's a Nicaraguan. Your commitment is with the Cuban vote." Despite the rancor of the race, however, it was not close, with Díaz winning the nomination with 66% of the vote to Logan's 34%. Advancing to the general election, he only faced write-in opposition and won re-election with nearly 100% of the vote. In 2013 Díaz was mentioned as a potential candidate to run against Democratic

United States Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Joe García in the 26th Congressional District, he ultimately declined to run, instead opting to run for re-election. Díaz served as the Chair on the Florida House Regulatory Affairs Committee. He was also a member of the Florida House Appropriations Committee, K-12 Subcommittee, and the Local Government Affairs Subcommittee. In January 2016, the Florida House Health Innovation Subcommittee unanimously voted to approve the KidCare legislation sponsored by Díaz, which would allow thousands of children legally residing in Florida to receive health coverage through the KidCare subsidized insurance program. In September 2017, Democrat Annette Tadeo won the District 40 election over Díaz.

References

External links

Florida House of Representatives - José Félix Díaz
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Jose Felix Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Florida Columbia Law School alumni University of Miami alumni 1980 births Living people American politicians of Cuban descent 21st-century American politicians