COCONUT GROVE, FLA. (WSVN) - Miami’s mayoral race is headed to a runoff between Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins and former Miami City Manager Emilio Gonzalez.
Neither Higgins nor Gonzalez reached the majority of votes needed on Tuesday night to win outright, so there will be another round of voting.
Higgins got 36% of the vote, receiving over 13,000 votes, while Gonzalez got 19% of the vote, capturing over 7,000 votes.
Both candidates have held office previously and have had long political careers.
Higgins focused her mayoral campaign on restoring trust in City Hall and addressing affordability. Gonzalez focused his campaign on bringing change to the city.
Gonzalez was endorsed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis while Higgins was endorsed by Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
Earlier this year, Gonzalez successfully sued the city to stop them from pushing the elections to 2026, which is what the commission had tried to do.
At their own victory party, both candidates said they are excited to move forward to the runoff.
“They know me from my work, and that’s what I am going to bring to City Hall. There’s not going to be drama, right? We’ve had all this drama and people yelling and all these corruption cases and scandals. That’s going to stop. There will be no drama, there will be no yelling, just hard work every day on behalf of the people,” said Higgins. “I am just so honored to come in with the largest number of votes going into the final runoff.”
“It’s been a lot of fun. I campaigned hard, I got the message out, and we needed to do something different, our residents need us to do something different. Just the fact that I had to sue the city, we wouldn’t be here today, and that says a lot about my commitment to this community,” said Gonzalez.
While Higgins managed to get nearly twice the number of votes that Gonzalez did, he told 7News he is not concerned heading into the runoff.
“Eileen Higgins and Ken Russell, they campaigned against each other because they were competing against the same demographic,” said Gonzalez. “I had to campaign against 12 people. So the fact that I finished with 20% of the vote, for me, that’s where I wanted to be. That’s where I thought I would be.”
Tuesday night’s results show Russell captured about 18% of the vote, while Miami Commissioners Joe Carollo and Alex Diaz de la Portilla had weak showings.
Despite failing to hit the necessary 50% to win on election night, both Higgins and Gonzalez are confident they can reach that threshold with the race narrowed down to two candidates.
“I want to make sure when we go back to their doors this week, it’s not the first time they’ve met us, it’s not the first time that they’ve heard about the things that I care about and my vision of integrity,” said Higgins. “I have a track record. I’ve been on the county commission for eight years. I have a track record of results. I don’t talk about what I might do, I actually just do what I talk about.”
“She has a voting record, I don’t. All I can do is run on my successes,” said Gonzalez. “I’ve been in leadership positions since the minute I graduated from college. I’ve had a lot of fun. I’ve had a lot of adventures. I’ve served in the army, I’ve served in the White House, I’ve served as the immigration director, as the airport director, as the city manager, and those varied experiences, I think, adds to the greater whole.”
The runoff election will take place on Dec. 9.
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