Democrat Eileen Higgins wins Miami mayor’s race, beats Trump’s pick
Democrat Eileen Higgins has defeated Trump-backed opponent Emilio González in Tuesday night’s runoff for Miami mayor, with the former Miami-Dade commissioner edging out the former city manager with nearly 60% of the vote, according to preliminary election night results.
A raucous crowd danced to Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” as Higgins stood alongside family and supporters onstage at the Miami Woman’s Club, a symbolic location as Higgins becomes Miami’s first female mayor.
The dozens of supporters chanted “Eileen!” and “Madam Mayor!” before the former county commissioner took the mic.
“Well, we did it!” she said. “Tonight, history was made.”
In addition to being the city’s first female mayor, Higgins is also the first Democrat and non-Hispanic elected to the position in decades.
“It’s very exciting to be the first woman to serve the city of Miami,” Higgins told reporters shortly after González conceded. Higgins said she had just spoken to González on the phone, referring to him as “a good man.”
Once Higgins’ victory became apparent, members of the city’s political establishment began pouring into the party, including Police Chief Manuel Morales, City Manager Art Noriega, and City Commissioners Ralph Rosado, Miguel Angel Gabela, Christine King and Damian Pardo.
“I just think it’s a brand new day for the city of Miami — a needed new day in the city of Miami,” Pardo told the Miami Herald.
Pardo and Gabela were both elected in runoffs two years ago, defeating two incumbents by running on reform platforms.
“I think it started two years ago, and I think that momentum of really wanting and being desirous of reform and wanting resident input … is key,” Pardo added. “And I think we’re here. We’ve arrived.”
At the González watch party, a crowd of about 100 people gathered at Meraki Greek Bistro downtown for a spread of Greek appetizers. Before polls closed at 7, Gonzalez sounded cheerful but also resigned to the night not being his.
“I had a blast. You don’t do this to be miserable,” he said. “I have no regrets.”
Shortly before 7:30 p.m., González slipped outside the restaurant into the Miami drizzle to take a call. Minutes later, he told supporters: “I just got off the phone with our new mayor.” González said he told her: ”We’re going to get behind you.”
He said he was proud of how his campaign led the way in calling out corruption in Miami government, starting with his litigation over an attempted delay of the election. “This has been the ride of a lifetime,” he said.
The position of Miami mayor is technically nonpartisan. But party politics became a major focus in the election after multiple major GOP politicians announced support for González, a former city manager and retired U.S. Army colonel who garnered endorsements from President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, among others.
In mid-November, the Democratic National Committee announced it was going “all in” to back Higgins, a former county commissioner and mechanical engineer by trade. Her endorsements include Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Miami Congresswoman Frederica Wilson.
With the race garnering widespread attention, both national political parties were hoping they could point to the race as a win: either as a rejection of Trump for Democrats, or for Republicans, a reversal of the Democratic momentum in New Jersey, Virginia and New York City last month. Some have argued the election is a “bellwether” for the 2026 midterms.
There are over 61,000 registered Democrats in the city, compared to nearly 53,000 Republicans, according to data from the Miami-Dade Elections Department. Non-affiliated voters outnumber Republicans, with over 55,000 registered in the city.
While Miami-Dade County flipped red in 2024 for the first time in 36 years in a presidential election, the city of Miami remained blue — albeit by a narrow margin of 50% for Kamala Harris to 49% for Donald Trump.
Higgins, 61, is a native of New Mexico who won her first race for elected office in 2018, when the then-unknown community activist ran for an open Miami-Dade County Commission seat representing parts of the city of Miami. Fluent in Spanish, she ran under the nickname “La Gringa” and rode anti-Trump backlash during the president’s first term to a victory that stunned the political establishment. After winning a second full four-year term last year to her District 5 seat, Higgins relinquished her county office to run for Miami mayor.
To run her campaign, Higgins hired Christian Ulvert, the political consultant behind her 2018 county win. He’s best known as the campaign manager for Levine Cava, a Democrat who also rode a partisan wave in 2020 to win her race for county mayor against a Republican.
González ran Miami’s government for two years as city manager under outgoing Mayor Francis Suarez. He came to the city post after another high-profile government job running Miami International Airport as Miami-Dade County’s aviation director.
While city manager, he ran day-to-day operations while in a bitter feud with the City Commission’s most bombastic member, Joe Carollo. When González resigned, he likened a typical City Commission meeting to a circus and stated: “I think it is best for our city if I remove myself from this spectacle.” In the November election, González beat two of the commissioners he served under: Carollo and former Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla.
Miami Herald staff writer Claire Heddles contributed to this report.
This story was originally published December 9, 2025 at 7:43 PM with the headline "Democrat Eileen Higgins wins Miami mayor’s race, beats Trump’s pick."
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