Miami voters head to the polls as Democrats see chance to win mayoral race : NPR
Miami holds its municipal elections on Tuesday, and for the first time in more than two decades, Democrats believe they have a chance of winning after President Trump endorsed the Republican in the race.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Miami is holding a rare runoff election for mayor today. Democrats are watching to see if Latinos in South Florida are switching to their party. From member station WLRN in Miami, reports Joshua Ceballos.
JOSHUA CEBALLOS, BYLINE: This is the first competitive mayoral race in the city of Miami in almost two decades. For the past 20 years, the mayor has been elected without a runoff and the position has always been held by a Latino Republican. But this year it’s different. Republican and former City Manager Emilio Gonzalez is facing Eileen Higgins. She is a Democrat and has served on the Miami-Dade County Commission. If Higgins wins, she would be the city’s first woman elected mayor and first non-Hispanic in decades. Observers, like political analyst Susan MacManus of the University of South Florida, say this race could be a bellwether for the Latino vote in 2026.
SUSAN MACMANUS: Most outsiders looking at this ask question No. 1: Will the Latino vote significantly shift from Republican to Democrat, and if so, to what extent?
CEBALLOS: President Trump risks casting a shadow over local elections. He supported Gonzalez, who was director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under George W. Bush. Gonzalez says he wants strict immigration standards.
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EMILIO GONZALEZ: I support a border policy. We didn’t have a border policy.
CEBALLOS: He also supports Trump’s decision to end Temporary Protected Status, which provides a legal way to stay in the United States for several migrant groups, including Venezuelans. Higgins, meanwhile, is critical of the policies that led to the development of the ICE detention center dubbed Alligator Alcatraz, which has been widely criticized for its harsh confinement practices.
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EILEEN HIGGINS: From Washington and Tallahassee, there is this culture of hatred that is spreading. We have governments building cages for people rather than housing.
CEBALLOS: Immigration issues are dividing South Florida’s Latino voters and could not only influence the mayoral race but also impact the nationwide midterm elections next fall, experts say.
For NPR News, I’m Joshua Ceballos in Miami.
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