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Eileen Higgins Wins Miami Mayoral Runoff, Breaking Nearly 30-Year GOP Hold

Trump’s endorsement of Emilio González helped turn the nonpartisan contest into a 2026 bellwether.

Overview

  • Preliminary returns show Higgins defeating González 59% to 41%, a margin major outlets called within about an hour of polls closing.
  • Higgins becomes Miami’s first woman mayor, the first Democrat elected since 1997, and the first non‑Hispanic mayor in decades.
  • The race drew national involvement, with Trump and Florida Republicans backing González as the DNC and prominent Democrats mobilized bilingual get‑out‑the‑vote efforts for Higgins.
  • Immigration enforcement and housing affordability defined the campaign, with Higgins denouncing local crackdowns as cruel and González emphasizing enforcement against people who commit crimes alongside tax and permitting changes.
  • Mapped returns and analyses, including from VoteHub, show a measurable leftward shift from the city’s 2024 presidential voting patterns, reinforcing Democratic momentum heading into the 2026 midterms.