Democrat Baez-Geller Defeats Incumbent Republican Basabe in Race Overshadowed by Sexual Harassment Verdict

In a heated 2026 national midterm where Democrats battled across the country to take back control of Congress from Republicans, down-ballot races may have seemed like second thought. But state and local elections often impact everyday life the most, and voters who live along the Miami Beaches had a notably competitive race before them on Election Day.

And, like many races across America during this election season, this seat flipped from red to blue.

In Florida House District 106, which encompasses the coastal communities of Miami-Dade from Miami Beach all the way up to Aventura, Democratic challenger Lucia Baez-Geller defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Fabian Basabe, winning 53.96% of the vote to Basabe’s 46.04% across all 47 precincts.

Basabe is a two-term member of the Florida House who worked with Republican-majority state committees to bring funding and resources back to his local community, while occasionally breaking with party leadership in the interest of local issues. He is a former reality TV star.

His Democratic opponent, Baez-Geller, is a former Miami Beach Senior High teacher and Miami-Dade School Board member who campaigned on lowering housing and insurance costs, protecting reproductive rights and strengthening public education.

Rep. Basabe provided written answers to questions from CommunityWire, and his full answers are here. The Baez-Geller campaign did not respond to requests for an interview by press time, so her positions are from public filings and previous media interviews.

Both candidates pitch that they are independent voices who can stand up to their respective parties when it goes against the interests of the community.

Basabe was first elected in 2022, describing himself as “fiscally conservative and socially liberal.” He said his multicultural background and experience being a father in his diverse community guides his policy and approach to government. There have been occasions where the representative voted against his party because “party affiliation does not replace independent judgment,” he said, adding, “A representative should offer solutions and be willing to disagree with leadership.”

Economically, the coastal Miami cities have struggled with beachside development in both permitting and demolition. Basabe voted against SB 1526, the Resiliency and Safe Structures Act, and HB 399 on land use because of his “concerns about development, historic preservation, and local control,” arguing they enable Miami Beach’s “demolition by decline.” 

Socially, Basabe has put forward legislation supporting same-sex marriage and a 12-week abortion limit, although his bills either died in committee or for lack of co-signers. He previously abstained rather than vote with his party for the six-week abortion ban passed in 2023, and voted for anti-LGBTQ+ bills promoted by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Baez-Geller brings a very different background, rooted in public education and local civic life. She holds a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from FIU, taught at Miami Beach Senior High for 15 years and served on the Miami-Dade County School Board from 2020 to 2024.

“I have spent nearly my entire life in this community as a student, teacher, public servant, and parent. As a longtime educator and former Miami-Dade County School Board Member, service has always been at the heart of my work,” Baez-Geller said in a Q&A with Florida Politics. 

During her tenure on the school board, Baez-Geller fought with the Republican-majority legislature and DeSantis over education policy and LGBTQ+ student recognition, she emphasized.

“I will not compromise my values to make Tallahassee politicians more comfortable,” she said in the interview. “I am a mother, an educator, and a neighbor who understands how hard families are working just to keep up. I will bring that experience, urgency, and determination to Tallahassee every single day.”

Miami Beach and the surrounding communities have changed. Large-scale developments, skyrocketing insurance premiums, condominium mandates and increased coastal flooding are just some of the issues on voters’ minds.

During his campaign, Basabe said the most urgent issue in the community “is whether residents can afford to stay here while maintaining their safety and quality of life,” and said he would have prioritized development policy. Through his committee assignments, Basabe stated his work “helped secure approximately $23 million in direct appropriations for district priorities,” while also co-introducing the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program to help lower insurance rates on beachside properties.

Baez-Geller, however, says that Republicans in Tallahassee have still not done enough, with voters still feeling economic pressure and prices out of control. 

“In the Florida House, my top priorities will be lowering the cost of living, reforming property insurance, expanding access to affordable healthcare and housing, strengthening neighborhood public schools, protecting reproductive freedom and personal freedoms, and investing in resilient infrastructure,” she told Florida Politics. Her first planned bill would force insurers seeking rate hikes to disclose how premium dollars are spent, alongside pushing for higher teacher pay and clean water investments.

Notably, both candidates are similarly against the large-scale and rapid development of the coastal communities without proper oversight and local input. Just as Basabe calls for infrastructure review before new development is approved, Baez-Geller wants the developer-friendly Live Local Act repealed or substantially rewritten, calling it ill-suited to barrier islands.

This was not an easy election for Basabe, who came under fire after a Leon County civil jury found him liable in July for sexual harassment, battery, and defamation. Judge J. Lee Marsh awarded two former staffers $450,000 in damages and prompted five of Miami Beach’s seven city commissioners to call for Basabe’s resignation.

Basabe adamantly rejects the decision, saying in an interview with CommunityWire that it was full of “manufactured allegations” and that Judge Marsh is “known as an activist liberal judge.” He plans to appeal it.

Baez-Geller made restoring accountability and working with local city officials a central contrast of her campaign.

“It's time for decorum, representative policy making, and collaboration with local government partners,” Baez-Gellar said. “I find it disqualifying that he won't take accountability. And he said he would resign, and now he's making excuses,” she said when commenting on the verdict in an interview with CBS Miami. 

Basabe said that his opponent’s refusal to debate him before the election spoke volumes.

“Voters should compare our records, our policy positions, and our willingness to answer questions,” Basabe said. “I am asking to be judged on what I have delivered and the work I am prepared to continue. I also am the only one willing to have a live debate, and that should tell you everything you need to know about people being packaged against me.”

Baez-Geller believed that voters wanted to hear about issues directly from candidates with solutions.

“People really want someone who's going to be focused on their issues right now…there are a number of situations in our district where people are being priced out of their homes,” she said. “Seniors have to choose between medicine and paying their mortgages. So, they need someone that's going to be focused on their issues, not on their own legal woes.”

And with Baez-Geller’s victory last night, the district has judged both candidates and made their decision on the future of their community.

This story is part of a statewide partnership of more than 30 nonpartisan newsrooms and universities working to help Florida voters make informed decisions in the 2026 elections. Learn more about the Florida Elections Reporting Partnership at floridaelections.org. News organizations are welcome to republish our work, as long as they credit the writer and CommunityWire.