Photo: Eileen Higgins website
Democrats scored a major win in President Donald Trump’s home state on Tuesday (December 9), flipping Miami’s mayoral office for the first time in nearly three decades.
Eileen Higgins, a former county commissioner and Peace Corps director, won Miami’s mayoral runoff with 60% of the vote, defeating Republican Emilio González, who was endorsed by both Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Higgins' win also marks the first time a woman will serve as mayor in Miami’s history. “Miami chose a new direction,” Higgins told supporters Tuesday evening. “You chose competence over chaos, results over excuses.”
Though the race was technically nonpartisan, it quickly turned into a political test in Florida. Republicans leaned into the idea that Miami was firmly red territory, while Democrats saw a rare chance to make gains in a state where their influence has been shrinking. Party leaders invested heavily, treating the mayoral race as a measure of voter energy in Trump’s backyard and in the same city that’s set to house his future presidential library just up the road in Doral.
Higgins' win landed on the same day Democrats flipped a Republican state House seat in Georgia, where voters elected Eric Gisler in a district Trump won by double digits in 2024. The small-business owner’s upset win signaled that even reliably red areas are willing to break from Trump-aligned candidates, adding to growing Democratic momentum.
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried called Miami’s result proof that organizing can still overcome GOP dominance. “When we commit to relentless, year-round organizing… we can, in fact, win,” she said.
Despite Republicans trying to downplay the loss — calling Miami a “Democratic-leaning” city — Higgins’ victory breaks 28 consecutive years of GOP control.
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