MIAMI \u2014 The Democratic National Committee is sending reinforcements to help elect a Democrat as Miami\u2019s mayor, further nationalizing the race after President Donald Trump endorsed a Republican ally for the job.<\/p>\n
Though the position of Miami mayor is nominally nonpartisan, the race is headed to a Dec. 9 runoff between former Miami-Dade City Commissioner Eileen Higgins, a Democrat, and former Miami city manager Emilio Gonz\u00e1lez, a Republican. Both emerged as the highest vote-getters among 13 candidates in the Nov. 4 general election, with Higgins finishing almost 17 points ahead<\/a> of Gonz\u00e1lez.<\/p>\n The DNC doesn\u2019t typically get involved in mayoral races, but the announcement comes after high-level wins during off-year elections \u2014 and as Democrats have seen some encouraging signs that Hispanic voters are dissatisfied with the GOP<\/a> given worries about the economy. A win for Higgins would make her Miami\u2019s first Democratic mayor in three decades and its first-ever woman mayor.<\/p>\n \u201cBetween now and Election Day, the DNC is all-in to elect Eileen Higgins and ensure Miami families have a champion who is fighting for them, not Donald Trump,\u201d DNC chair Ken Martin said in a statement.<\/p>\n The DNC is activating its national volunteer base and hosting virtual phone banks in English and Spanish to help turn out voters for Higgins, as well as recruiting and training bilingual voters who\u2019ll be on the ground.<\/p>\n The party didn\u2019t say how much it was spending on the effort, but noted Democrats have been investing $22,500 a month into states that are traditionally Republican and making a commitment to build up support in the South. Martin, in a statement, tied Gonz\u00e1lez to Trump\u2019s \u201ctoxic agenda,\u201d citing how 1.5 million Floridians<\/a> were expected to lose health insurance, most coming from lapsed Obamacare funding<\/a> Trump opposes reinstating.<\/p>\n In contrast to national Democrats, Trump has a history of getting involved in the Miami-Dade elections, naming favorites from commissioner to sheriff \u2014 and seeing his preferred candidates win. His endorsement of Gonz\u00e1lez on Truth Social<\/a> comes after voters in New York rejected his pleas to support Andrew Cuomo in the New York City mayor\u2019s race, as well as losses for Republicans in California, New Jersey and Virginia.<\/p>\n The candidates are vying to replace Francis Suarez, whose time overseeing Miami during a period of massive growth. Barring a recent lawsuit, Trump\u2019s library foundation is positioned to receive waterfront land in downtown Miami for his future presidential center<\/a>. Trump is also hosting the G-20 at nearby Doral, and Miami will host several World Cup Games.<\/p>\n Florida \u2014 once the largest swing state in the U.S. \u2014 has been a tough get for Democrats since 2020, with the exception of some local races. While Miami-Dade County supported Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis in recent elections, Democrats see some hope in Miami because it swung slightly in favor of former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. Democrats have also pointed to their overperformance in a pair of House elections in April<\/a> as evidence that the party is gaining momentum.<\/p>\n Both Higgins and Gonz\u00e1lez have tried to distance themselves in interviews from party labels and focus on the city\u2019s problems with affordability, flooding, transportation and housing. Asked on election night what advice she had for fellow Democrats, Higgins replied: \u201cI always tell people what matters to me. What matters to me is being honest, being hard-working, showing up every single day.\u201d Similarly, when Gonz\u00e1lez thanked Trump for his endorsement, he said it sent a message that \u201cour city deserves strong, common-sense leadership.”<\/p>\n Gonz\u00e1lez was a founding member of Veterans for Trump, worked on the White House transition team and at the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute. At the Miami-Dade GOP\u2019s Lincoln gala on Veterans Day, Gonz\u00e1lez took the stage and embraced how Democrats criticized him as the \u201cMAGA mayor.\u201d He also referred to Higgins as a \u201csoft socialist.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf MAGA means a strong border, I think we’re all MAGA,\u201d he said. \u201cIf MAGA means an even stronger defense, then I think we’re all MAGA. And if MAGA means an incredibly strong economy, we’re all MAGA. And if MAGA means school choice, we’re all MAGA, and if it means Second Amendment, we’re all MAGA. And protecting the most vulnerable in our society \u2014 we are all MAGA.\u201d<\/p>\n Before his job in city government, Gonz\u00e1lez worked in the George W. Bush administration running U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and was the CEO of Miami International Airport. He has been endorsed by DeSantis, Sens. Rick Scott<\/a>, Ashley Moody<\/a> and Ted Cruz<\/a>, as well as Rep. Byron Donalds<\/a> \u2014 Trump\u2019s 2026 pick for governor of Florida.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery major Republican has endorsed Emilio, from the president all the way down,\u201d Miami-Dade County Republican Chair Kevin Cooper said. \u201cI think you\u2019re going to see people of statewide and even national importance getting out the vote for Emilio.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that the county GOP was mobilizing its voters and would \u201cmake it known\u201d Gonz\u00e1lez was a Republican. He called the race \u201cvery much winnable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are going to give her a run for her money and make her explain her policies,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you want Miami to become California, vote for Eileen. It\u2019s very simple.\u201d<\/p>\n Higgins has focused her criticism of Gonz\u00e1lez on how he plans to continue working as a partner and senior adviser at an asset management firm if elected, while she plans to commit to the job of mayor full time even though it\u2019s considered a part-time position. Higgins also has questioned Gonz\u00e1lez\u2019s ability to lift Miami out of its scandal-plagued reputation, given his former role as city manager.<\/p>\n Asked about the DNC\u2019s investment, Higgins senior adviser Christian Ulvert said the campaign welcomed \u201call support,” singling out local leaders and community groups \u201cas we share our message for a safer, more affordable, more transparent city government that leaves no neighborhood behind and ends the corruption that has plagued city hall.\u201d<\/p>\n Other Democratic groups have supported Higgins, including Ruth\u2019s List Florida, which works to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights, as well as Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson. The Florida Democratic Party is backing her candidacy through phone banking and door knocking. In October, Higgins attended a Florida Democratic Party fundraiser with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in Coral Gables.<\/p>\n Gonz\u00e1lez is running on a promise to help DeSantis abolish property taxes on primary homes in the state. He has also said he\u2019s embarrassed about how city commissioners argue, and said he wants Miami to have a strong relationship with Tallahassee and with the White House to help the city\u2019s infrastructure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI \u2014 The Democratic National Committee is sending reinforcements to help elect a Democrat as Miami\u2019s mayor, further…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53914,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[33777,33776,409,4288,33779,9850,123,33778,125,124],"class_list":["post-53913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-city-commissioner-eileen-higgins","tag-democratic-national-committee","tag-donald-trump","tag-downtown-miami","tag-higgins","tag-maga","tag-miami","tag-miami-city","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53913","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=53913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53913\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}