The race for Miami Mayor is going to a runoff, with the Democrats best chance in years of pulling out a big victory in the Sunshine State.
Eileen Higgins, a progressive engineer, topped the 13-candidate field, receiving 13,399 votes for 36% — a 2-to-1 margin over second place finisher Emilio Gonzalez who came in with 7,256 votes for 19%.
Higgins and Gonzalez now advance to the runoff election scheduled for Dec. 9.
Higgins, 61, currently serves as Miami-Dade County’s District 5 Commissioner. She has received endorsements from SAVE, the Miami Herald and a number of Democratic officials, including County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
“On the county commission, she’s been there for our community, time and time again,” said SAVE Executive Director Todd Delmay, noting Higgins sponsored the creation of the county’s first LGBTQ advisory board and voted in favor of recognizing LGBTQ History Month and Transgender Day of Visibility.
If she wins, Higgins would become the first woman elected Mayor of Miami. Florida’s second-largest city, with an estimated population of nearly a half million people, has been stagnant since a circuit judge put the kibosh on commissioners' attempts to push back elections to 2026.
“Miami needs a leader who will restore normalcy to this embattled city,” the Herald wrote.
Gonzalez, 68, spearheaded the lawsuit to stop the city from postponing elections. He served as City Manager from 2017 to 2020 and prior to that was the CEO and Aviation Director at Miami International Airport.
“I’m not using this to advance my political career,” Gonzalez told Politico. “I’ve been there, done that.”
Gonzalez is endorsed by the Log Cabin Republicans of Miami, U.S. Senator Rick Scott and lame duck Gov. Ron DeSantis.
In its endorsement, the Log Cabin Republicans said Gonzalez will keep Miami “accountable and focused on residents first.”
Voter turnout in the Nov. 4 election was 22%.
