Democrat Eileen Higgins wins Miami mayoral election, defeats Trump’s pick

Democrat Eileen Higgins is favoured to win Miami’s mayoral run-off, a closely watched test of voter sentiment in Trump’s Florida stronghold.Democrat Eileen Higgins has won the Miami mayor’s race, defeating a Republican endorsed by US President Donald Trump and ending her party’s nearly three-decade losing streak to give Democrats a boost in one of the last electoral battles before the 2026 midterms.“Tonight, the people of Miami made history,” Higgins said in a statement after the results were announced on Tuesday evening.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Muslim group CAIR to sue Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over ‘terror’ labellist 2 of 4US top court weighs rollback of limits on party campaign spendinglist 3 of 4Tennessee special election results: What we know about Matt Van Epps’s winlist 4 of 4ACLU files lawsuit seeking legal basis for Trump’s Caribbean boat strikesend of list“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.Higgins, 61, will be the first woman to lead the city of Miami. She spoke frequently in the Hispanic-majority city about Trump’s immigration crackdown, saying she has heard of many people in Miami who were worried about family members being detained.Campaigning as a Democrat despite the race being officially nonpartisan , Higgins beat the Trump-backed candidate, Emilio Gonzalez, a former city manager, who said he called Higgins to congratulate her.“I just got off the phone with our new mayor,” Gonzalez told supporters, adding that he pledged to support her administration.Before her victory, Higgins told the Associated Press news agency: “We’re living in the state of Florida, where people are building cages for our residents rather than affordable housing for them.”The victory provides Democrats with some momentum heading into a high-stakes midterm election next year. With her runoff victory tonight, Eileen Higgins will be Miami's next mayor—the first woman in the city’s history and the first Democrat in nearly 30 years elected to the office. Congrats, Mayor-elect! pic.twitter.com/lSyZ087Xvc — Democrats (@TheDemocrats) December 10, 2025