Democrat Mike Friend and Republican Mery Lopez-Palma are competing for House District 102, an inland Broward County seat that covers all or parts of Davie, Plantation and Sunrise. The winner will succeed term-limited Democratic Rep. Michael Gottlieb. Election Day is Nov. 3.
Friend, a first-time candidate and Democratic dentist, has been a leader in the Florida Dental Association. He describes himself as a moderate Democrat and has campaigned on property insurance, public school funding, health care access and abortion rights. He narrowly beat 21-year-old Jayden D’Onofrio in the August Democratic primary.
Lopez-Palma, a lawyer, has long been active in Republican politics, dating to her time as vice president of the Republican Club at the University of Central Florida. She also owns a Vicky Bakery franchise in Sunrise and runs Palma Vida Foods and Mery’s Tropical Fruit Spreads. Gottlieb won the seat over her by 7 percentage points in 2024.
Money is tight on both sides. Through Oct. 2, Lopez-Palma had spent $120,000, including $69,000 of her own loans. Friend had raised $135,000, loaned himself another $50,000 and spent $114,000.
Friend has the bigger list of endorsements. His backers include the Florida Chamber of Commerce, several police and firefighter unions, the AFL-CIO and the Broward Teachers Union. The most notable is Jason Smith, the Cooper City commissioner who finished first in the GOP primary with 42% of the vote and endorsed Friend last month. Lopez-Palma’s support includes several local mayors and conservationist Ron Bergeron, and she points to her work helping more than 25 Broward candidates.
