Miami voters will decide their next mayor in a Dec. 9 runoff after no candidate cleared 50 percent, leaving Democratic County Commissioner Eileen Higgins and Republican challenger Emilio González to face off to replace the term-limited Francis Suarez.
The top two emerged from a crowded field of 13, and the runoff sets up a clear choice about direction and management for the city. Turnout and turnout strategy will matter more than ever in a runoff, and both campaigns can reset and sharpen their appeals. This will be a test of who convinces Miamians they can restore trust and get things done.
Eileen Higgins brings a public service resume that includes a 2018 election to the Miami-Dade County Commission and stints as an engineer, marketing executive, Peace Corps Belize country director and Foreign Service Officer. She represents parts of Miami Beach, Downtown, Brickell, Coral Way, Little Havana and West Flagler and leans on that broad local footprint. During a debate she told voters, “There’s going to be no drama,” Higgins said during her closing statement at a mayoral debate Oct. 16. “There’s going to be no corruption. There’s going to be no yelling. It’s just me, every day, going to work on your behalf to get things done — the things you’ve told me you want to see happen in this city. The city that you love. The city that I love. The city that should be the best place on earth.”
Higgins campaigned on affordability, cutting red tape for homeowners and small businesses, funding police and first responders, improving transportation and protecting the environment. Those are familiar, sensible themes for an incumbent county official who wants to present steady stewardship. Her pitch is stability and incremental fixes to long-standing city problems.
Emilio González emerged as the leading Republican in the race and carries high-profile endorsements from Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Senator Rick Scott, giving him traction with the state GOP apparatus. He has experience as a bilingual surrogate for former President Trump’s campaign, worked on the presidential transition team and later joined the America First Policy Institute. González has been clear about cutting taxes and trimming regulations to spur small business growth while pushing for modernized city services and a stronger public safety presence.
At the mayoral debate he was blunt about the need for change, saying, “We need reform and we need reform bad,” after a loss of public trust in local government. He added, “Our municipal government has failed our residents,” he said at the debate. “That’s why we’re here, all of us. We’ve let them down. We’ve left them down and they don’t trust us.” He also framed the job as service, not personal ambition: “Public service and being mayor has to be vocational,” he added. “It isn’t about making money, it isn’t about making my ego bigger, it isn’t about setting me up for another office or clickbait or this or that. It’s vocational, you’ve got to want to do it.”
The race saw early friction over governance moves in the city, including a legal fight after city leaders tried to push back the next municipal election. A Florida judge blocked the city’s plan to delay the November election to 2026 without voter approval, following a lawsuit by González, and that ruling kept the calendar on track and the campaign focused on immediate issues. That episode underscored how procedural battles can shape who voters notice and how trust in city government is framed.
Beyond the two front-runners, the field included familiar municipal names and fresh challengers, with former mayors and local activists all trying to stake a claim. Former Miami Mayors Joe Carollo and Xavier Suarez, Alex Díaz de la Portilla, Christian Cevallos, June Savage, Alyssa Crocker, Elijah John Bowdre, Ken Russell, Laura Anderson, Michael Hepburn and attorney Kenneth James DeSantis were among those on the ballot. That crowded lineup diluted first-round totals and made a runoff likely as voters splintered among many options.
This runoff gives Republicans a shot to flip the mayor’s office by consolidating conservative and independent voters around a single reform-focused candidate. For Democrats it’s a chance to hold the seat by defending a record of local service and promises to ease costs and improve city services. Either way, Miami will get a clear head-to-head choice on Dec. 9 that will shape the city’s policy and tone for the next term.
