Dem wins mayoral race, flips Miami blue for first time in nearly 30 years

( Post Millennial )

Democratic candidate Eileen Higgins has won the Miami mayor’s race, for the first time in close to 30 years. Along with becoming Miami’s first woman mayor, she will become Miami’s first Democratic mayor since 1998.Higgins, 61, won against Republican candidate Emilio Gonzalez in a runoff race on Tuesday night, with 22,142 votes (59%) compared with Gonzalez’ 15,097 votes (41%). Higgins had 22,142 votes (59%) compared with Gonzalez’ 15,097 votes (41%), as per NBCMiami.

“Tonight, the people of Miami made history,” Higgins said in a statement. “I’ve never been prouder to be a Democrat,” and “We’re living in the state of Florida, where we have people that are building cages for our residents rather than affordable housing for them,” she told the AP.

The upset is seen as a reaction to Trump’s first year of his second presidency in a city with a large Cuban population that often favors the GOP in voting. Gonzalez had been backed by President Trump, Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Rick Scott (R- Florida) as well as Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida. Gonzalez ran on eliminating property taxes, and was supportive of Trump’s stance on illegal immigration.

Higgins was the favorite, with a lead of 36% to 19% against Gonzalez during the first round of voting last month. Higgins was previously the Miami-Dade County commissioner, overseeing the Little Havana neighborhood, which has a large Hispanic population.

Higgins campaigned on affordable housing and said that Republicans were “hostile” to immigrants, especially Hispanics, which make up a large portion of both Miami and Florida. Her campaign also focused on opposing President Trump, and distributed flyers with altered images of Gonzalez in a red MAGA hat.

These results come after the recent New York city mayoral race, where socialist Zohran Mamdani won easily against Republican and Independent challengers, receiving 50.6% of the vote, with Independent Andrew Cuomo receiving 41.7% and Republican Curtis Sliwa receiving 7.1%.

Seattle recently elected socialist Democrat Katie Wilson, 43, with a narrow win over Bruce Harrell. She vowed to “Trump-proof” the city, and was congratulated by CAIR (council on American-Islam relations), saying that Wilson’s win was proof of a trend that benefits its agenda.