Eileen Higgins won historic victory, becoming the first Democratic mayor of Miami in 30 years. At 61 years young, Higgins ran her own campaign on the Democratic side, defeating Republican nominee Emilio González. In the end, she won handily, gaining her victory by roughly 19 percentage points. Her victory represents a dramatic political realignment in a city that has not elected a Democratic mayor since 1997.
Higgins’s election is especially historic because she will be the first woman to ever lead the governance body for Miami. On top of that, she is the first non-Hispanic candidate to occupy the position since the 1990s. This milestone victory comes at an important time. Miami’s demographic makeup has been influenced in large part by its majority immigrant population, which accounts for 57% of the city’s population. Higgins’ campaign focused on immigration issues. She was taking to heart voters who desired humane treatment for immigrants and didn’t want families torn apart, to which she personally connected.
The model campaign involved extraordinary organizing by activists, who knocked on 44,000 doors and made more than 300,000 phone calls in support of Higgins’s candidacy. This powerful grassroots mobilization was key in helping her amplify that message and reach a larger audience. She emphasized that government officials must treat all residents with dignity, asserting, “He and I have very different points of view on how we should treat our residents, many of whom are immigrants.”
Higgins’s platform focused on appreciating the role of local government in federal immigration policy as well as the need to create affordable housing. She highlighted the struggles faced by families torn apart by ICE’s actions and the rising costs of living affecting Miami’s residents. On the one hand we’re just seeing families really absolutely torn apart because of ICE’s indiscriminate, mass lethal deportations. We’re looking at a runaway inflationary cycle where prices just keep increasing. This was compounded by the ongoing crisis in affordability as housing and insurance premiums have skyrocketed. This is all super hyper local, and it really does make a huge difference who the mayor is of this city,” she said.
In her victory speech, Higgins reflected on the significance of her campaign’s messaging, stating, “The messaging for us is very local because every single one of these issues is pertinent to the daily lives of people who live in South Florida.” She expressed gratitude to her community for standing by her during the political fight. She doubled down on her pledge to restore trust between local government leaders and the community.
“This is not just about politics. This is about showing our community that we are not going to let them down,” she added. Higgins’s vision for Miami emphasizes inclusivity and support for all residents, reinforcing her stance that they are “not criminals, they’re part of this community.”
As Miami prepares for this new chapter under Higgins’s leadership, many are hopeful that her administration will address pressing issues with a fresh perspective. The city’s diverse population looks forward to a mayor who recognizes their unique challenges and works diligently to improve their lives.