Florida House District 80: Naples businesswoman Lauren Melo wins Republican primary

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Naples businesswoman Lauren Melo won the Republican primary against two opponents for state House District 80, which represents eastern Collier County and all of Hendry County.

Melo received 10,082 votes, or 58.2% of the ballots cast.

Opponent Drew-Montez Clark, a chiropractor and businessman, garnered 5,269 votes, or 30.4% of the vote. Victor Dotres, a Naples school teacher, received 1,962 votes, or 11.3%.

The District 80 seat is being vacated by Byron Donalds, who is running for Congress.

District 80 encompasses a region east of Naples and includes the communities of The Vineyards, Orangetree, Immokalee and all of Hendry County. There are 156,000 residents in the district.

More: Election 2020: Open seat for District 80 draws three Republicans for August primary

More: Election results for races in Collier County

Lauren Melo

 (Photo: Submitted)

Melo will face Democrat Laura Novosad in the Nov. 3 general election. State representatives serve two-year terms and earn an annual salary of $29,697.

Melo, 53, president of the Naples Area Board of Realtors, was an early favorite and received endorsements from Donalds, state Sen. Kathleen Passidomo and state Rep. Bob Rummel.

Melo said she is blessed to have volunteers who worked hard with her, including at precincts Tuesday. She was born and raised in Collier and that helps.

“I have deep roots in the community,” she said. 

Victor Dotres

 (Photo: Submitted)

She appreciates the endorsements, “but at the end of the day, the issues are very important,” she said. “I travel to Tallahassee throughout the year. I know a lot of the issues.”

The three top issues are health care, the economy and clean water, she said.

Melo has raised $111,529 and spent $102,587, according to the most recent campaign finance report filed July 31.

More: Election 2020: Here’s everything you need to know about Collier County primaries, candidates

More: Election 2020: Open seat for District 80 draws three Republicans for August primary

Melo said she decided to run to give back to the community that she has known all her life and gave her the opportunity to start her own trucking company. She expanded into real estate and became a broker. Today she owns her own brokerage firm, Florida’s Realty Specialists.

Drew-Montez Clark.

 (Photo: Submitted)

Clark, 36, a chiropractor and owner of a software company, said he decided to run after watching how government leaders were making decisions, including on the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement, based on fear and emotion rather than objective data.

Clark could not be reached after the election results.

Dotres, 46, who ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Collier County School Board in 2018 and for the state House in 2016, said he was disappointed by the results. 

“I worked hard. I wrote over 500 handwritten letters (to voters),” he said, adding that being a moderate Republican in a conservative district didn’t help him.

He will support Melo and the local GOP as a whole heading into the general election.

“I will do whatever they want me to do,” Dotres said.

He ran against Melo because of early endorsements she received from sitting lawmakers.

His campaign focused on improving the state’s education system, and adapting to be more flexible with virtual learning not only during the pandemic but potentially longterm to reduce class size.

Melo says today’s political climate is challenging and requires people who are “principled and courageous.”

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