Eileen and Emilio headed to Miami mayoral runoff as voters end the circus

Miami voters didn’t give anyone the keys to City Hall Tuesday night, but they did serve up a spicy little runoff, as expected, between Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins and former City Manager Emilio González — two candidates who couldn’t be more different, except for the fact that they both promise to end chaos in a city that runs on it.
But the best news that everyone was celebrating into Wednesday morning: Neither Commissioner Joe Carollo nor former Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla got anywhere close to the runoff, with ADLP scoring single digits.
With all precincts counted — and results delayed for about 30 minutes later than usual (more on that later) — Higgins came in first with nearly 36%, almost double what González pulled with just over 19% in a 13-candidate free-for-all.
And in true Miami fashion, both claimed victory anyway.
Read related: Poll has Eileen Higgins in Miami mayoral runoff with Emilio González
At her election night party — a chic penthouse bar at the Yotel, naturally — Higgins walked out to cheers and hugs from her fellow Democrat, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava,  and they raised their hands together like they’d just won the tag-team championship. Earlier in the day, La Alcaldesa had called Higgins “the yin to my yang.”
Before the crowd, Higgins was ebullient. “We’re done with dysfunction,” she said. “We’re done with chaos.”
Ladra almost spit out her café. Done with dysfunction? In Miami? Okay, querida. Maybe she should have said, “We’re going to put the fun back in dysfunction.”
But the crowd loved it, and Higgins doubled down in Spanish as the TV cameras rolled. She’s aiming to become the city’s first female and first non-Hispanic mayor in… well, in a very long time, and she knows exactly who she’s up against: a Cuban American former general who once ran the airport.
Oh, and someone she used to work with. Because in Miami, everyone has worked with everyone.
In a statement, Higgins said it was a team effort and celebrated what she said was a new day for Miami.
“The people of Miami made history. Together, we turned the page on years of chaos and corruption and opened the door to a new era for our city — one defined by ethical, accountable leadership that delivers real results for the people,” she said.
“This victory belongs to every resident who knocked on doors, gathered petitions, made phone calls, and believed that integrity and hard work could triumph over politics as usual. Together, we built something extraordinary: a movement powered not by insiders or special interests, but by Miamians who love their city and demanded better.
“Tonight, we celebrate not just a victory, but a new beginning for Miami — a city that belongs to all of us, and a future we will build together.”
Meanwhile, over in Little Havana, Emilio González was basking in the glow of the neon sign at Hoy Como Ayer, taking selfies and telling anyone who would listen that the voters were hungry for “something new.”
Read related: Emilio Gonzalez will ‘clean up’ Miami — but he was there when it got dirty
“I worked very hard for this. My team worked very hard for this,” Gonzalez told The Miami Herald. “But more than anything else, the residents of the city of Miami have spoken. They want to see something different, they want to see something new, they want a new direction for the city. And I’m honored that I’ve been selected by them to take this a step further, and on December the 9th, let’s do this again.”
Emilio is running on being the outsider — which is rich, considering the man literally ran the city not that long ago.
But hey, this is Miami. Up is down, down is up, and everyone is the reform candidate.
“I’m not a career politician,” Emilio insisted. “She is.”
Higgins was quick to shoot that right back.
“The era of chaos happened when he was city manager,” she told the Miami Herald. “We already know what Emilio would do as mayor.”
Shots fired. Buckle up, Miami. December 9 is going to be spicy.
Poor Ken Russell. Mr. Paddleboard finished a respectable third place with about 18% — just over 700 votes under Gonzalez and not enough to keep the dream alive. The former Miami commissioner, who resigned in 2022 to run for Congress, closed the gap in recent weeks, particularly after the first debate, where he took his gloves off and people saw a new Ken. But maybe it was too late.

Still, his crowd at Sandbar Sports Grill looked like they were watching a Heat playoff game, not a concession speech. Russell kept it upbeat, talking about hope and reform and the fact that, mercifully, Miami voters left Carollo and Díaz de la Portilla near the bottom of the pack, where they belong.
“People want change,” he said. “They are not putting up with yesterday.”
Honestly, that line alone probably helps Higgins more than his endorsement ever could.
In a somber post-election video posted to Instagram, Russell said he just didn’t have the resources to get his message across. “Id didn’t happen guys. Did not happen. Miami went another way,” he said, between sighs. “That’s the problem with being an underdog. Sometimes they come out under.
“There was the establishment Democrat, the hardcore MAGA Republican and me in third, and I lost by 700 votes,” he said. “It really breaks my heart because there was a lot of people gathering hope for Miami, and that’s not easy.”
Read related: Ken Russell wants another shot at Miami City Hall — as mayor this time
But he also said it was not all bad news:
“There is something to be happy about, because we built something that created a movement of people that were excited for reform, that they’re sick of the dynasties, they’re sick of the corruption, and all three of the dynasty candidates ended up in the bottom,” he said, referring also to former Miami Mayor and former county commissioner Xavier Suarez, who came in sixth after Carollo and ADLP.
“We did harness a big movement for reform, and people were really sick of this, and they showed up,” he said. “The top three candidates were all the reform candidates and the bottom three candidates were all the dynasties of yesterday, and they all lost hard.”
Wednesday morning, he woke up a bit happier. “Underdogs don’t lose. We just continue to be underdogs,” he posted.
“For everyone who woke up to hold their government accountable yesterday, don’t give up hope or withdraw from action. Love your friends, fight for what’s right, stand up for freedom, and resist oppression. Thank you for believing in a better Miami. We beat the corrupt dynasties that all finished behind me. And we voted in a term limit charter amendment last night that will keep them from returning.”
Higgins heads into the runoff as the favorite. She’s got the name recognition, the fundraising machine, and the whole “serious adult” vibe that Miami voters seem to be craving after years of scandals, indictments, screaming matches and more lawsuits than a week’s worth of Caso Cerrado episodes.
And if the trend continues –Democratic voters outnumbered Republicans, with 16,633 turning out against 11,396 GOP voters — Higgins will have another advantage in a few weeks. While this is a non-partisan race, there really is no such thing in Miami-Dade anymore. That turnout — a scant 21% in total — might reflect the electorate’s disgust with state and national GOP leaders — and may repeat on Dec. 9 if Gonzalez doesn’t lay off the heavy Republican background.
Gonzalez, meanwhile, is banking on those big red endorsements, the law and order vote and nostalgia — the idea that a retired colonel who once ran the airport and City Hall can bring discipline to a city that routinely loses its keys, its records, and sometimes its commissioners.
This race is going to get messy — fast.
Higgins wants to paint Emilio as the ultimate insider. Gonzalez wants to paint Eileen as the ultimate politician. And voters are stuck choosing between two reformers in a city allergic to reform.
But one thing is certain: Miami rejected the old ghosts. Carollo and ADLP finished so low they needed scuba gear.
Now the real fight begins.

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