Trump, GOP face test in Miami mayor runoff: Meet the candidates

Republicans – and President Donald Trump – are facing another test.

The fight to fill Miami’s mayor office comes to a head on Tuesday evening during a special runoff election as Democrat Eileen Higgins and Republican Emilio González are locked in a tight race, with the Democrat holding a slight lead in early voting.

Democrats have secured several wins in off-year elections this year, including the governor races in Virginia and New Jersey, as well as the mayoral race in New York City. And in districts where President Donald Trump previously scored double digit wins, like Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, Democrats have seemingly made inroads.

In Miami, the trend seems to remain in the area that Trump flipped in the 2024 presidential election.

Higgins, who has gotten the endorsement from key national Democratic figures like former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, came in first during Miami’s mayoral race on Nov. 4. She garnered roughly 35% of the vote. González, who secured Trump’s endorsement, came in second with 19%.

Since no candidate secured more than 50% of the vote, the two top candidates from the two major parties went into a runoff election.

Miami has not elected a Democratic mayor in roughly 25 years.

Here’s what to know about the race:

Who is Eileen Higgins?

Higgins, 61, is a former Miami-Dade County commissioner who wears the label “La Gringa.” She served on the commission board, which represented a district that included the Cuban enclave of Little Havana, until this year. She was first elected in 2018.

Higgins resigned from the commission due to Florida’s resign-to-run law, which requires an elected official to resign from office before they run for a different elected position. She was the commission’s longest-serving member.

This isn’t the first time Higgins has tried to run for another office.

In May 2022, Higgins announced her candidacy for Florida’s 27th congressional district before ending her campaign days later. At the time, she said she wanted to avoid a Democratic primary against the party’s eventual nominee, Annette Taddeo.

Throughout her campaign for mayor, Higgins has focused on housing affordability. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Miami saw New Yorkers and Californians flock to the city. That caused living and housing costs to explode for residents – and was a key factor as to why Trump won by double digits in Miami-Dade County.

Throughout her campaign, Higgins has focused on local issues and her previous record as a commissioner who helped expand affordable housing and secure funding for expansions of two rapid transit lines.

But even as she could make history as the first Democrat – and first non-Hispanic – mayor in almost three decades, Higgins said in an interview with USA TODAY that she has relied on support from members of all parties and would govern with that in mind.

“I lead with my democratic values, but I serve everybody,” she said. “I never asked you what political party you are, and I never asked you if you voted for me.”

Who is Emilio González?

González, 68, is a retired Air Force colonel and served as a city manager under Mayor Francis Suarez.

He had a military career that spanned 26 years, including Army Attaché to Mexico and El Salvador and a key post at the Defense Intelligence Agency. He is also a former director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, serving under Republican President George W. Bush.

Throughout the campaign, González has focused on fighting back against corruption and “cronyism” in the city.

González has been endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Rick Scott and Trump.

After the race was announced it was going to a runoff, Trump in a Truth Social post on Nov. 17 said González “will fight tirelessly to Grow the Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Advance MADE IN THE U.S.A., Unleash American Energy DOMINANCE, Keep our now very Secure Border, SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment.”

Is this a sign of a blue wave in the 2026 midterms?

Democrats secured overwhelming wins in both New Jersey and Virginia governor races this year. In Tennessee’s comfortably Republican district that Trump won by 22-percentage points, Democrat Aftyn Behn lost by only 9 points to Trump-endorsed Matt Van Epps.

That’s the trend Democrats want to continue in Miami’s mayoral race.

The Democratic National Committee has poured resources, including a bilingual organizing blitz ahead of the runoff, in support of Higgins. She’s also gotten support of national politicians like Buttigieg and Arizona Sen. Reuben Gallego.

“I believe deeply in the importance of local leadership, especially right now. And Eileen has spent years showing up for this community,” Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said in a video endorsement posted on Dec. 5. “She listens. She works hard. And she delivers. And that’s exactly what Miami needs right now.”

Trump in 2024 flipped Miami-Dade County, getting roughly 55% of the vote over Democrat Kamala Harris’ almost 44%. Both Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton won that country in 2020 and 2016, respectively. If González loses, it will be seen nationally as a setback for Trump and the Republican Party.

But locally, a longtime politician said to not look too deeply if Higgins seals a win.

Xaiver Suarez, who previously served as mayor in the 1980s and in the 1990s and who is father of the current Miami mayor Francis Suarez, downplayed a possible Democratic win in the mayoral race.

“This is an odd year, nonpartisan, and the parties realize that money makes a big difference,” Suarez said, pointing to the DNC’s campaign behind Higgins.

But Suarez said Democrats will still try to use a win to “gain momentum.”

“Mommy didn’t raise no fools,” he said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump, GOP face test in Miami mayor runoff: Meet the candidates