Carlos Lacasa

In 1994, Lacasa challenged incumbent State Representative Eladio Armesto-Garcia for re-election in the Republican primary in the 117th district, which was based in Coral Gables. During the campaign, Armesto-Garcia faced controversy over his decision to hire his ex-girlfriend as his district office secretary, and then to fire her the day after her daughter turned eighteen,^[2] as well as whether he resided within the district.^[3] In the primary election, Armesto-Garcia placed first with 42 percent of the vote, and Lacasa placed second with 33 percent, while businessman Leo Flores won 25 percent.^[4] Because no candidate won a majority, a runoff election was held on October 4, which Lacasa narrowly won,^[5] receiving 54 percent of the vote.^[6] In the general election, Lacasa faced Democratic nominee James Bovell, an attorney.^[7] He defeated Bovell by a wide margin, winning 67 percent of the vote to Bovell's 33 percent.^[8]

In 1996, Lacasa ran for re-election, and was challenged by Flores and Ovidio Lopez-Fernandez, a Spanish-language newspaper publisher.^[9] He defeated both in a landslide, receiving 76 percent of the vote to Flores's 16 percent and Lopez-Fernandez's 8 percent.^[10] He was re-elected unopposed in the general election.^[11]

Lacasa was unopposed for re-election in 1998.^[12] In 2000, Lacasa was challenged by nonprofit executive and political consultant Ana Alliegro, the girlfriend of State Senator Alex Díaz de la Portilla, one of Lacasa's intra-party rivals, and John Robert Penland.^[13] Lacasa narrowly won the primary without need for a runoff, receiving 51 percent of the vote to Alliegro's 43 percent and Fenland's 6 percent.^[14]

In 2002, Lacasa faced term limits and could not run for re-election to a fifth term. Instead, he challenged Alex Díaz de la Portilla in the Republican primary in the 36th Senate district.^[15] The race between Lacasa and Díaz de la Portilla was negative, and drew on decades of a feud between their two families.^[16] Díaz de la Portilla narrowly won re-nomination, receiving 49 percent of the vote to Lacasa's 42 percent.^[17]

Governor Jeb Bush appointed Lacasa to the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority Board in 2005,^[18] and was appointed by State House Speaker Marco Rubio to serve on the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission in 2007.^[19] In 2011, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater named Lacasa as the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.^[20]