Who will be Miami’s mayor when the FIFA World Cup descends on South Florida next year?

Voters moved one step closer to that answer Tuesday night as Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins and former City Manager Emilio González advanced to a Dec. 9 runoff in the crowded field of 13 candidates for Miami mayor.

Higgins, a Democrat, collected 13,325 votes (35.96%), while González, a Republican who was endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, collected 7,214 votes (19.47%).

Ken Russell, 52, a Democrat born in Coral Gables and raised in Miami, felt the heartbreak of a close third-place finish with 6,514 votes (17.58%).

Of the 174,462 active eligible voters for this election, 37,591 ballots were cast (21.55%), with about 12% of those coming from early voters.

As of Sept. 30, Miami-Dade County as a whole had 447,323 registered Republican voters to 407,801 sided with the Democrats.

Miami is a city with about half a million residents.

“If Florida can show in the City of Miami race that Democrats can still perform and still win these elections, it should send shock waves across the country to continue to pay attention to Florida, continue to invest here,” Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said earlier.

González, a retired U.S. Army Colonel who lives near Coconut Grove, served as the Miami-Dade Aviation Department director from 2013 to 2017, has experience heading the Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council, was the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service director, and worked in the Office of Special Assistants for the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Southern Command.

Higgins, who has experience as an engineer, was a marketing executive, the director of the Peace Corps in Belize, and a diplomat in the foreign service before serving on Miami-Dade’s Board of County Commissioners. She qualified to run by petition.

Those left out of the picture included Xavier L. Suárez, father of the current mayor, and Joe Carollo, both who’ve been Miami’s mayor and faced off before. Suarez managed to collect 1,830 (4.94%) and Carollo collected 4,253 (11.48%).

Also out of the picture is Miami Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla (1,905 votes or 5.14%).

Frank Carollo, Joe’s younger brother, emerged at the top of the District 3 Miami Commission seat, gathering 2,555 votes (37.78%), ahead of restaurant manager Rolando Escalona’s 1,175 votes (17.37%). They will collide again in the Dec. 9 runoff.

Christine King easily won the District 5 Miami Commission seat with 84.41% of the votes (5,186 total).

Steven Meiner won reelection to the Miami Beach mayoral post in a close one against Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, 51%-49%.

Final Miami Mayor results

139/139 precincts reporting

* Eileen Higgins 13,325 votes (35.96%)

* Emilio González 7,214 votes (19.47%)

* advanced to runoff

Ken Russell 6,514 votes (17.58%)

Joe Carollo 4,253 votes (11.48%)

Alex Díaz de la Portilla 1,905 votes (5.14%)

Xavier L. Suarez 1,830 votes (4.94%)

Michael Hepburn 687 votes (1.85%)

Laura Anderson 411 votes (1.11%)

Christian Cevallos 287 votes (0.77%)

Kenneth James DeSantis 219 votes (0.59%)

Elijah Bowdre 180 votes (0.49%)

Alyssa Crocker 147 votes (0.40%)

June Savage 84 votes (0.23%)

Final Miami Commissioner Dist. 3 results

22/22 precincts reporting

* Frank Carollo 2,555 votes (37.78%)

* Rolando Escalona 1,175 votes (17.37%)

* advanced to runoff

Oscar Alejandro 809 votes (11.96%)

Rob Piper 741 votes (10.96%)

Brenda Betancourt 600 votes (8.87%)

Denise Galves Turros 490 votes (7.25%)

Yvonne Bayona 348 votes (5.15%)

Fayez Tanous-Vasquez 45 votes (0.67%)

Final Miami Commissioner Dist. 5 results

35/36 precincts reporting

x-Christine King 5,186 votes (84.41%)

x-winner

Marion K. Brown 500 votes (8.14%)

Frederick Bryant 458 votes (7.45%)

Final City of Miami Beach Mayor results

x-Steven Meiner 7,595 votes (51%)

x-winner

Kristen Rosen Gonzalez 7,242 votes (49%)