Caroline Vakil and The Hill
(The Hill) – Democrat Eileen Higgins is projected to flip the Miami mayor’s office, defeating Republican Emilio González in the latest sign of the party’s momentum heading into next year’s midterms, according to Decision Desk HQ.
Higgins becomes the first Democrat to win Miami’s mayoralty since 1997. She bested González, a former Miami city manager who served on President Trump’s Homeland Security Department transition team, to succeed incumbent Mayor Francis Suarez (R). The race is technically nonpartisan.
The win is the latest boost for Democrats, who are coming out of a better-than-expected election in November and a strong showing in this month’s special House election in Tennessee. The party hopes that an energized base and a focus on issues like affordability will help them flip the House and possibly even the Senate in next year’s midterms.
Higgins and González were both forced into a runoff after neither candidate was able to receive at least half the vote. Higgins, who has become known as “La Gringa,” received 36 percent in the November election, while González received close to 20 percent.
The Miami race attracted prominent figures from both sides: former U.S. ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel; former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) were some of the Democrats who campaigned or endorsed Higgins ahead of the runoff.
Meanwhile, Republicans like Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) have endorsed González in the race.
The city narrowly went for former Vice President Harris last year, but Trump flipped Miami-Dade County, which includes the city of Miami. One reason the race attracted attention is because Miami-Dade County is one example of the many blue and purplish areas where Trump made gains in 2024.
But the county is also important because of its key Latino and Hispanic demographic, which make up 70 percent of the population. The president made impressive inroads with Latino and Hispanic voters last cycle. Harris narrowly won Latino voters by 5 points in November, according to exit polling from CNN — a far cry from the 33 points former President Biden won the demographic by in 2020.
But recent polling had suggested Latino voters were souring on the president, raising questions around how that might impact Republicans down ballot.
