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Former Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins gained Miami’s mayoral runoff election Tuesday, marking the primary time in additional than 30 years that the town has elected a Democrat as mayor.
Higgins secured 59% of the vote versus former Miami Metropolis Supervisor Emilio Gonzalez‘s practically 41%, based on unofficial outcomes from the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections. The win marks an finish to a aggressive race that started with a crowded 13-person area.
“Our metropolis selected a brand new route,” Higgins informed the cheering crowd at her election night time celebration. “You selected competence over chaos, outcomes over excuses and a metropolis authorities that lastly works for you.”
The marketing campaign centered on points resembling immigration, housing, flooding, metropolis progress, and the tone of management Miami wants. Higgins and Gonzalez confronted off in a CBS Information Miami debate moderated by Jim DeFede on Nov. 25, giving voters an opportunity to check their visions for the town.
Whereas the race was formally nonpartisan, Higgins had the backing of distinguished Democrats, whereas Republicans, together with Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Trump, endorsed Gonzalez.
Out of 175,692 registered voters, 37,496 solid ballots on Tuesday, a turnout of 21.3 p.c, based on official information.
Higgins’ imaginative and prescient for Miami
Higgins served eight years on the Miami-Dade County Fee and campaigned on restoring public belief and bringing what she described as calmer, extra collaborative management to Metropolis Corridor. Reasonably priced housing was a cornerstone of her platform. She pledged to make the most of city-owned land to construct housing for working households and criticized Miami’s fast progress with out corresponding enhancements in companies.
She additionally referred to as for a full assessment of metropolis spending and proposed updating rules to permit permeable pavement and speed up park building to enhance drainage citywide. Higgins helps increasing the Metropolis Fee from 5 to 9 members, arguing that Miami’s legislative physique is unusually small in comparison with different main cities and leaves many communities underrepresented.
On immigration enforcement, Higgins voiced robust considerations, calling current actions in Miami “inhumane and merciless.”
Higgins vowed to work with the Trump administration on points the place they’ll discover frequent floor, however informed CBS Information, “Once we disagree, I am going to make my voice heard.”
Higgins celebrates historic victory
Cheers inside a Miami ballroom grew louder as Higgins stepped to the microphone, newly elected as the town’s subsequent mayor.
“Effectively, we did it!” she exclaimed, drawing one other spherical of applause.
Higgins framed the night time as a turning level for Miami and reminded supporters that the celebration was additionally a name to motion.
“This is not only a celebration but additionally a promise as a result of Miami is dealing with actual challenges and tonight marks the start of the work forward,” Higgins stated.
She pledged to maneuver Miami ahead.
“No extra limitless delays for households making an attempt to repair a house or small enterprise making an attempt to open,” Higgins stated. “We are going to minimize crimson tape, restore what’s damaged, and modernize Metropolis Corridor. We are going to confront the affordability disaster with the urgency Miami households want. We are going to make our streets safer by supporting regulation enforcement and strengthening neighborhood partnerships. We are going to defend Biscayne Bay.”
Joe Raedle / Getty Photographs 
Her imaginative and prescient was inclusive.
“We are going to lead a metropolis that belongs to everybody,” she stated to cheers.
“A metropolis the place seniors can keep, youthful folks can construct a future, immigrants really feel welcome and revered,” she added, as the group roared once more.
Higgins additionally struck a conciliatory tone, noting she had spoken together with her opponent.
“I simply spoke with my opponent Emilio Gonzalez, a superb man that I’ve identified for a lot of, a few years and genuinely respect,” Higgins stated. “He cares about our neighborhood; that’s what unites us.”
Distinguished Miami figures joined Higgins on the celebration, together with Miami-Dade Mayor Daniela Levine Cava, Miami Police Chief Manny Morales, County Commissioner Oliver Gilbert III, Opa-locka Mayor John Taylor, and Florida Democratic Occasion Chair Nikki Fried, underscoring the historic nature of Higgins’ win.
Gonzalez concedes, displays on lawsuit
Earlier than delivering his concession speech, Gonzalez referred to as Higgins instantly.
“We respect you, and we gives you all of the latitude you want to do nice issues,” Gonzalez informed her.
Whilst he conceded, Gonzalez acknowledged the authorized battle that made Tuesday’s vote doable. His lawsuit, filed in July 2025, challenged the Metropolis of Miami’s determination to postpone the mayoral election till 2026.
Requested Tuesday if he felt the lawsuit was value it, Gonzalez replied: “Completely, pay attention, consider the irony. I filed a lawsuit to have an election that I participated in and misplaced. Okay? That ought to let you know that it is a lot greater than me.”
He had argued the postponement was unconstitutional and disenfranchised voters, saying solely the citizens had the authority to vary the date. A decide agreed, ruling the town’s vote to delay was void and unconstitutional. That call ensured the election went ahead in 2025, in the end resulting in the runoff between Gonzalez and Higgins.
What’s subsequent?
Higgins will take workplace with a mandate to handle housing affordability, local weather resilience, and authorities transparency. Her win alerts a shift in Miami’s political panorama and units the stage for important coverage modifications within the years forward.
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