Miami voters elected Eileen Higgins as their next mayor on Dec. 9. She is the first Democrat to win the office in decades and the first ever woman to hold the role.
While the Miami mayoral position is non-partisan, Higgins’ success in the mayoral runoff was a major moment for Democrats, who have defeated GOP rivals in several 2025 off-year elections.
It could also be another warning sign for Republicans and President Donald Trump, who endorsed Higgins’ losing opponent, Emilio González. Trump flipped Miami-Dade County, which includes the city of Miami, in the 2024 presidential election.
Here’s what to know about Miami’s incoming mayor.
Who is Eileen Higgins?
Eileen Higgins wins Miami mayoral runoff, becoming the city’s first woman ever and first Democrat elected in nearly 30 years.
Higgins, 61, is a former Miami-Dade County commissioner and represented a district that included the Cuban enclave of Little Havana. She was first elected to the seat in 2018 and relinquished it this year to run in the mayoral race.
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.
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.
City of Miami Mayoral candidate Eileen Higgins, and former Chicago Mayor and Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, and Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried speak to supporters before she canvasses a neighborhood for votes on Dec. 08, 2025 in Miami, Florida.
Higgins said in an interview with USA TODAY 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, before her victory. “I never asked you what political party you are, and I never asked you if you voted for me.”
This isn’t the first time Higgins has tried to run for another office, after a short attempt for a congressional district in 2022. Higgins ended her campaign in May only a few days after announcing her intention to run for Florida’s 27th district seat. At the time, she said she wanted to avoid a Democratic primary against the party’s eventual nominee, Annette Taddeo.
Kathryn Palmer is a politics reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] and on X @KathrynPlmr. Sign up for her daily politics newsletter here.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Eileen Higgins? Democrat wins Miami mayoral election
