Democrat Felipe Sousa Lazaballet has become the first Brazilian elected to Florida’s state legislature. He won about 63% of the vote against his Republican opponent in the Orlando metropolitan area on Tuesday, November 3, the day of the midterm elections. He is also the first openly gay immigrant to win a seat in the state legislature, according to the report.
Born in Duque de Caxias, in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state, Lazaballet moved to the United States in 2001, when he was 14. He entered on a tourist visa that later expired and spent years without legal immigration status. As a teenager, he learned that his status could prevent him from attending university, but later enrolled at Miami Dade College, where he studied international relations.
He became involved in advocacy for young immigrants brought to the United States as children, commonly known as Dreamers. In 2010, he and other young people organized the Trail of Dreams, a five-month march from Florida to Washington covering about 1,500 kilometers, calling for their legalization. Lazaballet later qualified for the DACA program, which offered temporary protection and work authorization to eligible immigrants who had arrived as children.
After a brief period in New York, Lazaballet returned to Florida in 2016 and helped the city of Orlando. Following the attack at the Pulse nightclub that year, he supported survivors and victims’ families. He later led the Hope CommUnity Center, an organization that supports immigrants. He married, obtained a green card and became a U.S. citizen in 2021.
In 2025, Florida Democratic representative Anna Eskamani asked him to run for her seat in the state House. Eskamani, whose parents are Iranian immigrants, had reached the local limit of four consecutive two-year terms. She told Lazaballet that his personal story and work with marginalized communities gave him credibility as a candidate.
Sources: Folha Mundo.