{"id":301613,"date":"2026-06-09T18:54:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T18:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/301613\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T18:54:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T18:54:11","slug":"5-miami-dade-commission-candidates-win-unopposed-as-3-face-august-challengers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/301613\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Miami-Dade Commission candidates win unopposed as 3 face August challengers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Four incumbent Miami-Dade Commission<\/a> members \u2014 Chair Anthony Rodriguez and Commissioners\u00a0J.C. Bermudez, Natalie Milian Orbis and Micky Steinberg \u2014 coasted into re-election Tuesday alongside incoming member Steve Gallon, who is leaving the School Board for County Hall.<\/p>\n

All candidates were re-elected unopposed following the county\u2019s\u00a0qualifying deadline<\/a>\u00a0at noon on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Miami-Dade Mayor\u00a0Daniella Levine Cava, a former County Commissioner herself, congratulated the automatic winners, whose party affiliations fall on both sides of the political aisle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am proud to work alongside these dedicated public servants as we continue building a stronger Miami-Dade County,\u201d she said in a statement. <\/p>\n

\u201cThough we bring different perspectives to the table, we are united by our passion for this community and our commitment to solving problems, delivering results, and building a brighter future for every neighborhood across our county. I look forward to continuing our work together to meet this moment, prepare for the challenges ahead, and ensure Miami-Dade remains a place of opportunity and possibility for generations to come.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rodriguez, a Republican, was first elected<\/a> to the nonpartisan 13-member panel in 2020 to represent District 10. The district covers central-northern Miami-Dade and includes unincorporated areas such as Fontainebleau, Kendall, Sunset, and Westchester.<\/p>\n

He previously served as Vice Chair under Commissioner\u00a0Oliver Gilbert\u00a0and was a member of the Florida House from 2018 to 2022.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Anthony Rodriguez, while serving House District 118. Image via Colin Hackley\/Florida Politics.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez didn\u2019t file for re-election until mid-May and, consequently, hasn\u2019t reported any financial activity through his county-level campaign account<\/a>. His state-level political committee, A Bolder Florida<\/a>, raised more than $3.9 million between when he first won his seat and March 31. He had close to $3.8 million remaining by April.<\/p>\n

Bermudez, a Republican who also won in 2022, represents District 12, which covers an area in northwest Miami-Dade encompassing all or part of the municipalities of Doral, Hialeah, Hialeah Gardens, Medley, Sweetwater and Virginia Gardens, as well as a large portion of the county\u2019s unincorporated area.<\/p>\n

He came to County Hall after a lengthy service as the founding Mayor of Doral. This cycle, he raised nearly $150,000 through his campaign account<\/a> and more than $1.1 million through his county-level political committee, Committee for Responsibility in Government<\/a>. By April 1, he had more than $727,000 remaining.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Juan Carlos \u201cJ.C.\u201d Bermudez won his seat in 2022 with 66% of the vote. Image via Juan Carlos Bermudez.<\/p>\n

Milian Orbis, a Republican and the immediate past Vice Mayor of West Miami, took her District 6 seat by appointment<\/a> in early May 2025 after its prior occupant, fellow Republican Kevin Marino Cabrera, departed for a U.S. Ambassador post.<\/p>\n

She\u2019d previously worked as an aide to former Commission members Joe Martinez, Rebeca Sosa and Juan Zapata, and her husband, Manuel, was Cabrera\u2019s Chief of Staff.<\/p>\n

Milian Orbis reported raising more than $209,000 through her campaign account<\/a> and another $562,500 through her political committee, Dade Families First PC<\/a>, and entered April with $561,200 left to spend.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>With no need to spend money defending her seat, Natalie Milian Orbis is free to add her campaign gains this cycle to her re-election defense four years from now. Image via Natalie Milian Orbis.<\/p>\n

Steinberg, a Democrat and former Miami Beach City Commissioner, won unopposed again Tuesday after also facing no challenger<\/a> in her 2022 bid for District 4, which covers the northeastern corner of Miami-Dade and includes 13 municipalities: Aventura, Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor, Biscayne Park, Golden Beach, Indian Creek,\u00a0Miami Beach<\/a>,\u00a0Miami Shores<\/a>,\u00a0North Bay Village, North Miami, North Miami Beach, Surfside and Sunny Isles Beach.<\/p>\n

She raised more than $137,000 through her campaign account<\/a> and about $250,000 through her county-level political committee, Miami-Dade Forward<\/a>, and had $527,000 left by the end of the last reporting period.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thank God for the incredible honor of serving my fellow neighbors and I am incredibly grateful for the trust and confidence that the residents have placed in me,\u201d Milian Orbis said in a statement. \u201cWhile I am humbled by this support, I am even more energized about the work ahead. There is still much to accomplish, and I remain committed to fighting for safer neighborhoods, responsible government, lower costs for families, and the high quality of life our residents deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>As she did four years ago, Micky Steinberg enjoyed an unobstructed path to her County Commission seat this year. Image via Micky Steinberg.<\/p>\n

Gallon, who has served on the Miami-Dade School Board since 2016, didn\u2019t file to run until late May. He\u2019ll succeed Gilbert representing District 1, which covers northern Miami-Dade, including Miami Gardens.<\/p>\n

For a brief time, it appeared Gallon would face a fellow Democrat in Miami Gardens Council member Linda Julien, who decided against running<\/a> for the seat one week after announcing she would pursue it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Steve Gallon made a seamless jump from the School Board to the County Commission. Image via Steve Gallon\/Facebook.<\/p>\n

Like\u00a0Commissioners Danielle Cohen Higgins and Milian Orbis, Gallon has an opportunity to serve an extended term, as Gilbert is leaving office early to run for Congress<\/a>. He will serve the two remaining years on Gilbert\u2019s current term, after which he is eligible to run for re-election twice for four years apiece before reaching term limits.<\/p>\n

Three other Miami-Dade Commission seats are up for grabs this year.<\/p>\n

In District 2 \u2014 which covers sizable portions of North Miami and Opa-locka, as well as smaller pieces of Hialeah, Miami, North Miami Beach and the unincorporated neighborhoods of Biscayne Gardens, Liberty City and North Central Dade \u2014 incumbent Marleine Bastien will face challengers Ernst Jean and Miguel \u201cSkip\u201d Quintero.<\/p>\n

Bastien, a Democrat and nonprofit leader, won her seat with 59% of the vote in 2022. Jean is an independent-turned-Republican. Quintero, a member of the Libertarian Party, is a trapeze artist<\/a> and self-described First Amendment auditor who challenged<\/a> Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava in 2024.<\/p>\n

In District 4, Cohen Higgins \u2014 a Democrat who succeeded Levine Cava on the Commission \u2014 is hoping to secure another four years on the dais she first joined by appointment<\/a> in 2020. She won election<\/a> to the seat \u2014 which covers much of Miami-Dade County\u2019s southern portion, including the municipalities of Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay, Homestead and the unincorporated neighborhoods of Redlands, Falls, Princeton, Naranja, Leisure City and parts of West Kendall \u2014 with 57% of the vote two years later.<\/p>\n

This year, she faces former Palmetto Bay Vice Mayor John DuBois and National Community Services CEO Martha \u201cVega\u201d Hero, both Republicans.<\/p>\n

And in District 5 \u2014 which covers parts of Miami and Miami Beach, including the neighborhoods of Brickell, Downtown Miami, Little Havana, Miami River, Mid Beach, The Roads, Silver Bluff, Shenandoah, South Beach and West Flagler \u2014 incumbent Vicki Lopez aims to stave off challenges from Democrat Rob Piper and fellow Republican Joe Sanchez.<\/p>\n

Lopez, a former Lee County Commissioner and state Representative, won appointment<\/a> to the Commission in November 2025 on a 7-5 vote, with Bastien, Gilbert, Cohen Higgins, Milian Orbis and Rodriguez voting to pick her over five other applicants, including Sanchez.<\/p>\n

Piper, a Marine Corps veteran and former House staffer who led a 2020 recall PAC targeting former Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo, was one of eight candidates<\/a> who ran for the City Commission last year.<\/p>\n

Sanchez, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper and former Miami Commissioner, was last on the ballot in 2024, when he ran unsuccessfully for Sheriff<\/a>, and was among the applicants passed over for the District 5 appointment last year.<\/p>\n

Because County Commission contests are technically nonpartisan, all nine remaining candidates will appear on the Aug. 18 Primary. To win, a candidate must receive more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate in a given race does so, the top two vote-getters will advance to a runoff in the Nov. 3 General Election.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Four incumbent Miami-Dade Commission members \u2014 Chair Anthony Rodriguez and Commissioners\u00a0J.C. Bermudez, Natalie Milian Orbis and Micky Steinberg…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":301614,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[25162,74510,8184,126619,28931,24952,126620,94219,126621,123,125,124,24953,24954,123384,126622,50207,33028,126623,11674],"class_list":["post-301613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-anthony-rodriguez","tag-danielle-cohen-higgins","tag-election-2026","tag-ernst-jean","tag-j-c-bermudez","tag-joe-sanchez","tag-john-dubois","tag-marleine-bastien","tag-martha-hero","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-miami-dade-commission","tag-miami-dade-county-commission","tag-micky-steinberg","tag-miguel-quintero","tag-natalie-milian-orbis","tag-rob-piper","tag-steve-gallon","tag-vicki-lopez"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/301614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}