There wasn’t going to be a primary in the House 112 race — which covers downtown Miami, Shenandoah and Key Biscayne. But then the ghost of former Miami-Dade Commissioner Bruno Barreiro filed at the 11th hour to challenge teacher Rosy Palomino, a perennial candidate and president of the Douglas 
Park Neighborhood Association who has been campaigning for what seems like forever.
Las malas lenguas say Barreiro didn’t talk to anyone at the Republican Party of Florida, which reportedly recruited Palomino to run against Democrat incumbent Nicholas Duran, a lobbyist who used to be an NPA before Jose Javier Rodriguez left to run for State Senate and opened up the opportunity. Barreiro didn’t call Rosy either. He may not have even known that there was a primary until a few weeks ago when the Palomino signs started popping up in his neighborhood.
Most voters didn’t know Barreiro was running, until they got a couple of recent ballot-chasing mailers. Many are, like, “¿Otra vez? ” Didn’t he get enough of a beating two years ago in the congressional race he gave up his commission seat for? Barreiro came in second with only 26% of the vote in an overlapping district and lost that race by 14 points to Spanish-language TV news host Maria Elvira Salazar, who later lost to Congresswoman Donna Shalala, who will likely get a rematch.
Read related: Bruno Barreiro makes Congress bid official; Dems celebrate
He could have run for the District 5 seat and maybe gotten elected. Nobody is thrilled with the choices.
“I thought I could do more good at the state. I bring experience. I can help the new delegation,” Barreiro said. “In this world we’re living in, my experience can make a big difference.”
This race is marked by one thing you don’t see often. No negative attacks. Nobody is calling anybody a communist. This is going to be a real popularity contest.
“I’m running to unseat a Democrat that has to go,” said Palomino, who has twice run for that seat and at least once for city of Miami commission.
“If Bruno is as popular as he thinks he is, he should win and I’ll support him in November,” Palomino texted Ladra. “If I win, I hope he can help me with his fundraising prowess to unseat this Democrat and right this wrong for our community.”
Way to kiss GOP ass. And prowess?
Maybe once upon a time. But now Barreiro has raised only $55,500 between his campaign and his political action committee Transparency in Government — well, really $34,000 because he loaned 
himself $21,500 — according to the most recent campaign finance reports. The Tallahassee money is not pouring in like it used to. Perhaps it is because he has already spent about $1 million between his wife’s two runs — for city commission in 2017 and county commission in 2018 — and his shoddy congressional campaign in 2018, with nothing to show for it.
“A lot of people are waiting until after the primary to get in,” Barreiro explained, adding that he raises money as he needs it.
Name recognition ain’t the issue. Everybody knows Bruno. It’s name appreciation that could be problem. Barreiro is likeable, and his experience and ability to reach across the aisle would be welcome now in the new COVID-19 normal, but he’s made a ton of mistakes — the Marlins Stadium deal being chief among them — and he’s been in office forever.
He was the target of a recall once and already had his political enemies — like Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, who trashed Mrs. Zoraida Barreiro in the 2018 campaign and beat his estranged half brother former State Rep. Gus Barreiro in this very primary in 2012 — before he decided to pick a fight with Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo by supporting a recall effort largely spearheaded by Democrats and pissing off Republicans. But nobody ever accused Bruno of being too bright.
Just persistent.
Surprise GOP primary in HD112 as Bruno Barreiro tries to come back added by Ladra on
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