\n\t\t\t\t\t\tEileen Higgins will be the next mayor of the city of Miami, according to a projection from CNN\u2019s Decision Desk, breaking a nearly 30-year Republican streak in holding the nonpartisan seat and giving Democrats another example of strong performance in elections during the first year of President Donald Trump\u2019s second term.Higgins, a former county commissioner, will defeat city manager Emilio Gonzalez, who was endorsed by Trump. She won Tuesday\u2019s runoff after leading the first round of voting on November 4 with 35% of the vote to Gonzalez\u2019s 19%.Democrats are already riding a wave of momentum after a dominant performance in November\u2019s off-year elections and over-performing their 2024 results in Tennessee\u2019s 7th Congressional District, shrinking a 22-point 2024 margin to single digits in a special election last week.Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, congratulated Higgins in a statement Tuesday, writing, \u201cI am thrilled for Eileen and cannot think of a better person to shatter Miami\u2019s glass ceiling by becoming the first woman to lead the city in its 129-year history.\u201dWhile Miami\u2019s mayor holds little formal power, the person in the role serves as a high-profile ambassador for the city. Outgoing Mayor Francis Suarez tried to parlay the position into a run for president in 2023, which ended after only two months.Affordability has been a key issue throughout the campaign, especially relevant in one of the most expensive cities in the country. Capitalizing on the Democrats\u2019 national focus on the topic as of late, Higgins supports building more affordable housing. Gonzalez backs a Gov. Ron DeSantis-supported plan that would eliminate property taxes for primary residences.\u201cMy opponent is keen on building, building, building,\u201d Gonzalez said in an interview with CNN. \u201cShe wants to put a skyscraper in every corner \u2026 then calling it affordable housing, which is a misnomer, because very rarely is it truly affordable.\u201dImmigration also came up frequently in debates. Miami is home to a large Latino population and the Krome immigrant detention center, which has gained notoriety for overcrowding and subpar conditions.Gonzalez said in a debate last month he supports federal law enforcement rounding up \u201cpeople who commit crimes.\u201d Higgins, in the same debate, denounced US Immigration and Customs Enforcement\u2019s actions in Miami as \u201cinhumane and cruel\u201d and criticized the detention center DeSantis opened and nicknamed \u201cAlligator Alcatraz.\u201d\u201cThis is the first year ever where residents have told me they\u2019re afraid, right?\u201d Higgins said in an interview with CNN. \u201cI can\u2019t go an hour when I am at community events without meeting someone whose brother, sister, aunt, uncle, was either taken to Alligator Alcatraz or who knows where? They don\u2019t even know where they are.\u201dA new mayor would take office amid an ongoing legal battle over the land where Trump\u2019s presidential library is supposed to be built. Miami-Dade College voted for a second time this month to cede valuable downtown property to the foundation for the library. The college is being sued by an activist who alleges it violated Florida\u2019s open government law, and a judge temporarily blocked the sale. A trial is scheduled for August.Democrats are already riding on a new wave of momentum after a dominant performance in November and a recent special election in Tennessee\u2019s 7th District, where even with a loss they shrunk Trump\u2019s 22-point 2024 margin to single digits.A Higgins win will add even more enthusiasm to the party right before turning the calendar to 2026 and the midterms.Miami-Dade County, which encompasses Miami and some of its surrounding suburbs, voted Republican in 2024 after long being a Democratic stronghold. Trump became the first Republican presidential to win Miami-Dade since 1988. This swing was predicted in many ways by DeSantis\u2019 significant reelection margin there in 2022, beating Democrat Charlie Crist by 11 percentage points.The winner of Tuesday\u2019s contest won\u2019t be the only mayor in town. The city of Miami and Miami-Dade County both elect mayors. Miami-Dade is led by is Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, a Democrat although the position is officially nonpartisan. She oversees the whole of the county, including dealing with broader, county-wide issues concerning Miami proper.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tFLORIDA, USA \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Eileen Higgins will be the next mayor of the city of Miami, according to a projection from CNN\u2019s Decision Desk, breaking a nearly 30-year Republican streak in holding the nonpartisan seat and giving Democrats another example of strong performance in elections during the first year of President Donald Trump\u2019s second term.<\/p>\n
Higgins, a former county commissioner, will defeat city manager Emilio Gonzalez, who was endorsed by Trump. She won Tuesday\u2019s runoff after leading the first round of voting on November 4 with 35% of the vote to Gonzalez\u2019s 19%.<\/p>\n
Democrats are already riding a wave of momentum after a dominant performance in November\u2019s off-year elections and over-performing their 2024 results in Tennessee\u2019s 7th Congressional District, shrinking a 22-point 2024 margin to single digits in a special election last week.<\/p>\n
Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, congratulated Higgins in a statement Tuesday, writing, \u201cI am thrilled for Eileen and cannot think of a better person to shatter Miami\u2019s glass ceiling by becoming the first woman to lead the city in its 129-year history.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Miami\u2019s mayor holds little formal power, the person in the role serves as a high-profile ambassador for the city. Outgoing Mayor Francis Suarez tried to parlay the position into a run for president in 2023, which ended<\/a> after only two months.<\/p>\n Affordability has been a key issue throughout the campaign, especially relevant in one of the most expensive cities in the country. Capitalizing on the Democrats\u2019 national focus on the topic as of late, Higgins supports building more affordable housing. Gonzalez backs a Gov. Ron DeSantis-supported plan that would eliminate property taxes for primary residences.<\/p>\n \u201cMy opponent is keen on building, building, building,\u201d Gonzalez said in an interview with CNN. \u201cShe wants to put a skyscraper in every corner \u2026 then calling it affordable housing, which is a misnomer, because very rarely is it truly affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n Immigration also came up frequently in debates. Miami is home to a large Latino population and the Krome immigrant detention center<\/a>, which has gained notoriety for overcrowding and subpar conditions.<\/p>\n Gonzalez said in a debate last month he supports federal law enforcement rounding up \u201cpeople who commit crimes.\u201d Higgins, in the same debate, denounced US Immigration and Customs Enforcement\u2019s actions in Miami as \u201cinhumane and cruel\u201d and criticized the detention center DeSantis opened<\/a> and nicknamed \u201cAlligator Alcatraz.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the first year ever where residents have told me they\u2019re afraid, right?\u201d Higgins said in an interview with CNN. \u201cI can\u2019t go an hour when I am at community events without meeting someone whose brother, sister, aunt, uncle, was either taken to Alligator Alcatraz or who knows where? They don\u2019t even know where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n