Rep. Alex Rizo just won re-election to his House District 112 seat unopposed in June, but he’s forgoing two more years there to instead compete in a to-be-called Special Election for Senate District 39.
Rizo, a former Republican Party of Miami-Dade County Chair who has held the HD 112 seat since 2020, announced that he’s running to succeed fellow Republican Bryan Ávila, who left office last month to be Byron Donalds’ gubernatorial running mate.
He is the second Hialeah lawmaker to throw his hat into the SD 39 ring, following Rep. David Borrero, who announced his candidacy one day before.
“I am running for the Florida Senate because this community has always been my home. I know the people, families, and small businesses that make it an example of the American dream,” he said in a statement Tuesday.
“I have had the privilege of representing Miami Lakes, most of Hialeah, Virginia Gardens, Miami Springs, and parts of unincorporated Miami-Dade while in the Florida House. I have worked closely with Gov. (Ron) DeSantis through the years, and now I am ready to continue fighting in the Senate for the conservative values and common-sense policies that have made the ‘Free State of Florida’ the very best in America.”
Rizo’s campaign noted that while leading the Miami-Dade GOP from 2022 to 2024, he helped President Donald Trump become the first Republican presidential nominee to win the county in 36 years.
In the same election that again delivered Trump the White House, all five of Miami-Dade’s constitutional offices went to Republican candidates and no congressional seats changed hands. The closest state legislative contest in the county — a rout between controversy-laden Republican Rep. Fabián Basabe, whom Rizo has endorsed this cycle, and well-funded former Democratic Rep. Joe Saunders — still swung 4 percentage points for the incumbent.
Rizo has passed several notable measures during his six years in the Legislature, including a 2024 law he carried with Ávila known as the “Halo Act,” which enables first responders to designate 25-foot no-go zones around themselves and arrest people who enter those areas after a warning.
Proponents of the law say it’s about safety, pointing to 25 feet as the long-accepted reaction distance for officers to respond to sudden threats when a suspect’s hands aren’t visible. Critics, including most Miami-Dade Commissioners who voted against a 2021 resolution supporting an earlier version of the proposal, argued it is a veiled attempt to obstruct witnesses and stop citizens from filming cops who behave badly.
Rizo — a teacher-turned education consultant — also collaborated with Borrero and former Sen. Manny Díaz Jr. on a 2022 law requiring yearly observance and education on the dangers of communism, a 2024 law mandating disclosure of artificial intelligence use in political ads, a 2025 law to enhance preparedness for cardiac emergencies in public schools and a 2026 change eliminating the requirement of vehicle registration decals.
In the past three regular Sessions, Rizo passed 28% of 36 bills he introduced, though some of the bills marked as unsuccessful may have been absorbed into other legislative packages.
Born in New York City, Rizo, 58, graduated from Hialeah Senior High and earned a bachelor’s degree in biological science and a master’s degree in educational leadership and administration from Florida International University and Nova Southeastern University, respectively.
He worked as a biology teacher for three years until 1998, when he transitioned to administrative work in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Since 2007, he’s worked as an education consultant.
His candidacy against Borrero is likely to invite contrasts of loyalty. Rizo, like Ávila, endorsed DeSantis in the 2024 Primary, while Borrero has prominently mentioned that he was among the first five Florida lawmakers to back Trump.
Like Borrero, Rizo has never had a close race. He won what became the HD 112 seat in 2020 with 60% of the vote after facing no Primary opponents, retained office unopposed in 2022 and defeated an underfunded Democratic challenger in 2024 by a whopping 46-point margin.
No one filed to run against him this cycle.
As is also the case with Borrero’s House District 111, HD 112 and SD 39 overlap substantially.
DeSantis has largely been mum so far on when a Special Election for SD 39 will be, offering only a “stay tuned” through a spokesperson.
Adding the contest to the Nov. 3 General Election ballot is unlikely. State law lets the Governor fold a Senate Special Election into the regular Primary and General when no Session is scheduled beforehand — the route DeSantis used this year in Senate District 21 — and the condition technically applies here.
But the Aug. 18 Primary has come and gone, and Miami-Dade must transmit military and overseas ballots for the General by Sept. 19.
“My intention is to run for Senate District 39. Upon Gov. DeSantis’ call for a Special Election, and once the election schedule is established, I will take the necessary steps to formally enter the race,” Rizo said. “In the coming weeks I look forward to sharing my conservative record with the voters, demonstrating strong community support, and raising the necessary funds to win this Special Election.”
He also appears to be angling for an early endorsement from the man he hopes to replace.
“Bryan Ávila has dedicated his life to serving our community, our state, and our country,” he said. “I am grateful for his friendship, his leadership and his sacrifice, and I am proud to see him take that commitment to service statewide alongside our next Governor, Byron Donalds.”
SD 39 covers all or parts of Doral, Hialeah, Hialeah Gardens, Medley, Miami Lakes, Miami Springs, Sweetwater and Virginia Gardens.
Republicans account for 44.6% of the District’s 234,368 voters, compared with 21.5% Democrats. Trump carried the District by 38 points in 2024.
Ávila, whose term ran through 2028, also never faced a close race.