For the first time in nearly three decades, the city of Miami has elected a Democrat as mayor. The victory marks a significant swing in the Florida constituency that supported Donald Trump one year ago. The win in Miami builds upon this year’s blue wave that saw several Democratic victories, even as both parties gear up for next year’s midterm elections.
Democrats win as ‘Miami chose a new direction’
Democratic candidate Eileen Higgins easily won a runoff election Tuesday to become Miami’s next mayor. Higgins, a former county commissioner who represented downtown Miami for eight years, won 60% of the vote in the runoff after coming in first place with 36% of the vote in November’s 13-candidate race. On Tuesday, she faced Republican Emilio González, a former city manager who has also been an Air Force colonel, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the CEO of Miami International Airport at various times. González came in second in the first round of the election in November. In defeating González, Higgins said that “Miami chose a new direction.”
She painted her victory as a choice of “competence over chaos, results over excuses and a city government that finally works for you.”
Although the Miami mayoral election is officially nonpartisan, the race drew national attention and significant involvement from both parties. González, who cofounded Veterans for Trump and served on the president’s transition team, received endorsements from Trump as well as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Sen.Ted Cruz. Higgins drew support from the Democratic National Committee, which took the unusual step of getting involved in a mayoral race and mobilizing volunteers for the election. DNC Chair Ken Martin said in November that “between 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.” Higgins was also endorsed by prominent Democrats, including Pete Buttigieg, who served as U.S. Secretary of Transportation under President Joe Biden.
Democrats look to build upon success in 2026
Miami is a somewhat unusual political environment, tending to support Democrats in presidential elections but Republicans in the city’s mayoral elections. In 2024, Trump became the first Republican in over 30 years to win Miami-Dade County, partly a manifestation of his unexpectedly strong performance among Latino voters in that election. By contrast, the victory for Higgins one year later is the first time that Miami has elected a Democratic mayor in nearly 30 years, the latest in a string of successes for Democrats this year, who also won high-profile races such as Zohran Mamdani’s election as New York City’s next mayor.
The Miami runoff election was a low-turnout event, with less than 37,000 people voting in Tuesday’s runoff out of a population of roughly half a million people. Nevertheless, Democrats are taking the Miami results as a strong sign that they could make significant gains in Congress in next year’s midterm elections. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York posted, “Congratulations to Mayor-elect Eileen Higgins on crushing Donald Trump’s candidate!” Jeffries also announced, “We are coming for the three South Florida Republicans next,” declaring Democrats’ intention to flip Republican-held congressional seats in Florida.
Democrats still have a long way to go in their attempt to retake Congress in a 2026 election that has already been marked by partisan gerrymandering, heated rhetoric and sharp political divisions. But Tuesday’s mayoral victory in Miami has given them another sign that the political tide may be turning toward Democrats and away from Trump and his GOP allies.