Watch: Leading candidates for Miami mayor debate Thursday night
Four candidates for Miami mayor — Xavier L. Suarez, Ken Russell, Eileen Higgins and Emilio T. González — took the stage Thursday night for a televised debate moderated by the Miami Herald and NBC 6.
Herald politics editor David Smiley co-moderated the debate alongside NBC 6 anchor Jackie Nespral. The debate was being hosted by the Biscayne Neighborhoods Association, a local civic group, and presented by Griffin Catalyst, which is Citadel CEO Ken Griffin’s philanthropic initiative.
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The Biscayne Neighborhoods Association invited the participating candidates based on a poll conducted by Griffin Catalyst. The selected candidates received at least 10% support in the poll of Miami voters.
City Commissioner Joe Carollo, another candidate for mayor, also met the threshold within the margin of error and was invited to participate but did not commit to attending the debate by the deadline set by the association.
All told, 13 candidates have qualified to run for Miami mayor:
- Laura Anderson
- Elijah John Bowdre
- Joe Carollo
- Christian E. Cevallos
- Alyssa Crocker
- Kenneth James DeSantis
- Alex Díaz de la Portilla
- Emilio T. González
- Michael A. Hepburn
- Eileen Higgins
- Ken Russell
- June Savage
- Xavier L. Suarez
This story was originally published October 15, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
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