Miami-Dade County Commissioner Natalie Milian Orbis is endorsing Jesus Tundidor in the pending Special Election for House District 112, the Tundidor campaign announced Monday.
She is the first County Commissioner on his list, and the seventh notable endorsement the former Hialeah Council President has collected since he entered the race on Sept. 18.
Milian Orbis represents Commission District 6, which takes in Miami Springs, Virginia Gardens, and parts of Hialeah and Miami. Those communities overlap with HD 112. Her statement cites Miami International Airport and the development next to it, where Nu Stadium, Inter Miami’s 26,700-seat home at Miami Freedom Park, opened in April.
“As County Commissioner, I am working to bring new investment, jobs, and economic opportunities to our community,” Milian Orbis said. “From Miami International Airport to the development surrounding the new soccer stadium, we have an opportunity to build on our strengths and deliver real benefits for our residents.”
“We need a strong partner in Tallahassee to help move that work forward,” she said. “Jesus Tundidor understands our community and shares my commitment to economic development, supporting local businesses, and keeping life affordable for working families. I am proud to endorse him for State Representative, and I look forward to working together to deliver for our residents.”
“Commissioner Milian Orbis is right that economic development is how we create good jobs and opportunity for working families,” Tundidor said. “Miami International Airport and the development around the new soccer stadium are major economic engines for our community, and they only thrive when we invest in the infrastructure that supports them, from our roads and transit to the systems that keep our neighborhoods moving. I will fight in Tallahassee for that investment and for smart growth that keeps life affordable and saves taxpayers money. I’m grateful for her support and look forward to working with her.”
Lawmakers put $5 million in this year’s budget for a new road and sidewalks into Miami Freedom Park at Northwest 37th Avenue and 17th Street, a project Miami-Dade’s in-house lobbyist worked. Gov. Ron DeSantis did not veto it.
Milian Orbis, a Republican, was appointed to the Commission in May 2025 on a 9-3 vote after Kevin Marino Cabreraresigned to become President Donald Trump’s Ambassador to Panama. She was West Miami’s Vice Mayor at the time, with nearly two decades at County Hall as a legislative aide to former Commissioners Rebeca Sosa, Joe Martinez, and Juan Zapata.
She won a full four-year term in June without an opponent. She raised more than $1 million for the race and was endorsed by Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz.
Tundidor, a healthcare executive and lifelong Hialeah resident, served on the Hialeah City Council from 2019 until January, including a term as Council President. He placed second in November’s race for Hialeah Mayor, which Bryan Calvo won outright. Before the Council, he was an aide to then-state Sen. René García, who now sits with Milian Orbis on the County Commission.
Future House Speaker Mike Redondo, who won the race for the gavel after the 2030 elections, endorsed Tundidor the day he announced. Miami-Dade School Board member Dan Espino, Miami Commissioner Rolando Escalona, and Virginia Gardens Mayor Spencer Deno followed the next week. Miami Springs Mayor Walter Fajet signed on Sept. 30, and the South Florida Police Benevolent Association on Oct. 5.
The seat is open because Hialeah Republican Rep. Alex Rizo, who won another term without opposition in June, is running for Senate District 39 instead. That seat opened when Bryan Ávila resigned in August to run for Lieutenant Governor on Byron Donalds’ ticket. Rizo faces Rep. David Borrero, also a Hialeah Republican, in the SD 39 Primary.
HD 112 covers most of Hialeah, Miami Springs, Virginia Gardens, and part of Miami. No one else has announced for the seat.
DeSantis has not called either Special Election. His office told Florida Politics in August that more information was “coming soon.”