Miami Mayor Candidates Make Final Pitches to Voters

The runoff election between Eileen Higgins and Emilio González is set for Dec. 9.

Miami City Hall in Miami, Fla., on June 15, 2023. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Miami’s two choices for mayor made their final pitches to voters as the countdown to the Dec. 9 runoff neared its end.

After three days of early voting on Dec. 5 through Dec. 7, as well as opportunities for mail-in voting, the choice between retired Col. Emilio González, former city manager, and former Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins will be made. Both candidates spent the last day before making one final bid to the voters.

“We talk to voters about the challenges ahead and the need for change in #Miami,” González said in a post on X on Dec. 8. “Residents are tired of the same politics giving us the same results. Residents left behind.”

He listed “end corruption,” “bold property tax reform,” and “family first agenda” as his priorities.

While the mayoral race is officially nonpartisan, both major political parties have staked their claim, with Republicans supporting González and Democrats backing Higgins. But there is also a significant number of voters who are not part of either faction.

“Non-party-affiliated voters cannot be ignored, and recent trends show they lean right of center,” González’s campaign told The Epoch Times. “We take nothing for granted. This will be a close race. We are engaged with the community, and their hard work, enthusiasm will help us get Emilio González across the finish line tomorrow.”

Higgins has also taken a people-before-party approach, highlighting the fact that she previously represented a district with a portion of right-leaning Little Havana.

“I have been a Democrat serving in a primarily Republican district, and all I have done is work for the people,” she said.

State and federal-level lawmakers offered up their endorsement have also voiced their support for their candidate over the past few days.

“Democracy works best when WE show up,” former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner said on X on Dec. 8. “Head to the nearest voting site and make your vote count - VOTE EMILIO GONZALEZ for City of Miami Mayor!”

González also earned the endorsement of President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Meanwhile, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg shared his support for Higgins.

“Eileen has spent years showing up for this community,” he said in a message on X posted on Dec. 5 by the Florida Democratic Party. “Eileen has fought for more affordable housing, better transit, and safer neighborhoods.”

If she wins, she will be the first Democratic mayor the city has seen in nearly 30 years.

“We are on the verge of making HISTORY,” the state’s Democratic Party said in another post on X at the start of early voting. “Democrat Eileen Higgins can become the first woman Mayor in Miami history & first Democrat to hold the seat since the 1990s.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.