Hialeah Republican Rep. Alex Rizo is adding another law enforcement group to his list of backers as he pursues a promotion in the Legislature.
The South Florida Police Benevolent Association (PBA), which represents some 6,500 law enforcement and corrections professionals across more than 40 agencies in the region, is endorsing Rizo for Senate District 39.
The SD 39 seat is open after its last occupant, Miami Springs Republican Bryan Ávila, accepted U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds’ invitation to be his gubernatorial running mate last month. Gov. Ron DeSantis has yet to call a Special Election to replace Ávila.
In an endorsement letter this week, South Florida PBA President Steadman Stahl cited Rizo’s record of standing up for police and other emergency personnel, citing the lawmaker’s sponsorship of Florida’s “Halo” law. The measure, which Ávila sponsored in the Senate and DeSantis signed in 2024, enables first responders to establish a 25-foot buffer zone around themselves and allows prosecution of anyone who crosses into that space after being warned.
“You have made law and order a priority throughout your illustrious public service career including sponsoring transformative legislation such as Florida’s HALO Law, that provides protections to public safety personnel when doing their dangerous jobs, as well as being dedicated to ensuring the safety and security of the residents you represent and our members protect,” Stahl wrote.
The South Florida PBA nod joins others from the Florida State Fraternal Order of Police, DeSantis, Senate President-designate Jim Boyd, Sen. Jay Trumbull, Hialeah Mayor Bryan Calvo and Hialeah Gardens Mayor Yioset De La Cruz.
Rizo said supporting law enforcement “has been a priority throughout (his) time in public service.”
“I am deeply grateful to President Stahl and the South Florida PBA for their confidence in me,” Rizo said. “In the Florida Senate, I will continue working with law enforcement on public safety and the challenges officers face in the line of duty.”
A six-year House member and former Chair of the Republican Party of Miami-Dade County, Rizo entered the SD 39 race Sept. 1, forgoing a House District 112 term he secured without opposition in June.
His lone GOP opponent, Hialeah Republican Rep. David Borrero, has touted being one of the first five Florida legislators to back President Donald Trump’s comeback bid. Rizo sided with DeSantis in the 2024 Presidential Primary.
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 its voters, compared with 21.5% Democrats.
Trump carried the district by 38 percentage points in 2024. DeSantis took it by 41 points two years earlier, according to MCI Maps.
The General Election is Nov. 3.