The City of Miami mayoral race is headed to a runoff after no candidate secured more than 50% of the vote Tuesday night.
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins led the crowded 13-person field with 36% of the votes, followed by former City Manager Emilio Gonzalez with 19% of the votes. Higgins far exceeded Gonzales by 6,111 votes, sending both to a Dec. 9 runoff to replace term-limited Mayor Francis Suarez.
Gonzalez narrowly edged out former city commissioner Ken Russell, who placed third, leading him by 700 votes.
At Higgins’ election night party at the Yotel in Downtown Miami, she greeted supporters with a message of change.
“We’re done with dysfunction,” said Higgins. “We’re done with chaos.”
If elected, Higgins would become the city’s first female mayor and its first non-Hispanic mayor since 1993, when former mayor Steve Clark secured reelection with 59% of the votes.
Tuesday marked a milestone for Higgins in more ways than one – it was also her final day serving on the Miami-Dade County Commission. Representing District 5, which includes Little Havana, South Beach and Brickell, Higgins had recently begun her third fourth-year term after running for re-election without opposition.
But despite Higgins securing far more votes than Gonzalez, he shrugged off the numbers at his election party at Hoy Como Ayer, a bar located at 2212 SW Eighth St. in Little Havana.
“Remember, Higgins was only running against Ken [Russell],” González told the Miami Herald. “I had to run against everybody else. That’s the difference.”
Gonzalez served as Miami’s city manager from 2018 to 2020. His tenure ended amid clashes with the city commission, including allegations that he expedited a permit for his home. More recently, he sued to stop the city from postponing the election without voter approval.
“I want to return normalcy to the city,” said Gonzalez. “I want to bring a sense of honesty and integrity to our government.”
The race for the City of Miami mayor’s seat was crowded, seeing political dynasty candidates like Xavier Suarez, Alex Diaz de la Portilla and Joe Carollo take their shot.
Carollo served as mayor from 1996 to 1997 and again from 1998 to 2001. Díaz de la Portilla was elected to the city commission in 2019. And Suarez was Miami’s first Cuban-born mayor in 1985, later serving as county commissioner.
But last night, residents rejected all three, with neither candidate making at least 12% of the vote.
“There is something to be happy about because we built something that created a movement of people that were excited for reform, that they are sick of the dynasties, sick of the corruption,” said Russell on an Instagram post late at night after his loss. “And all three of the dynasty candidates ended up in the bottom three.”
In the District 3 City Commission race, former commissioner Frank Carollo and restaurant manager Rolando Escalona will compete in the December runoff after neither candidate secured a majority vote.
Carollo received 2,555 votes (38%), while Escalona secured 1,175 (17%).
If Carollo wins, it remains unclear how Referendum 4 – a lifetime term-limit measure approved Tuesday with 79% support – will affect his eligibility. The new rule limits commissioners to two terms, and Carollo is seeking a third term after serving from 2009 to 2017.
In District 5, Commissioner Christine King cruises to reelection, securing a whopping 86% of the vote.
To read more about Higgins, click here. To read more about Gonzalez, click here.
Story by Sofia Baltodano, video by Julien Lescano and Laura Iglesias.
