MIAMI (WSVN) – It’s decision day in Miami as former County Commissioner Eileen Higgins squares off against former City Manager Emilio Gonzalez in a runoff race for mayor.
Polls opened at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, giving Miami residents a chance to voice their choice for the city’s next leader.
Polling analysts predict this election could be historic. Even though the Miami mayor race is technically nonpartisan, it has increasingly become partisan and gained national attention.
Higgins, a Democrat, won 36% of the vote in the Nov. 4 election and was the top contender in all of the city’s districts. However, she did not secure enough votes to win outright in the crowded race.
Based on the vote-by-mail ballots for the runoff, Higgins does have an edge, but what happens Tuesday will be the deciding factor. The city hasn’t had a Democratic mayor in over 30 years, so if she wins, that could change.
Gonzalez, a Republican backed by President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, said he wants to come back to City Hall to make even more changes.
Now both parties are focusing on this race as a possible indicator for what could happen in Miami in next year’s midterms.
Miami Beach and Hialeah are are having their runoff elections, but these cities’ races are just for Commissioner and City Council seats.
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