Miami Mayor Election: Democrat Eileen Higgins Ends 28-Year GOP Streak

Miami has a new mayor. Eileen Higgins won a decisive runoff election on December 9, 2025.

She defeated Republican candidate Emilio Gonzalez with nearly 59% of the vote. This victory ends 28 consecutive years of Republican control of the mayor’s office.

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Higgins will succeed outgoing Mayor Francis Suarez. Her win marks a significant political shift in the Florida city.

Who Is The New Mayor of Miami?

Eileen Higgins is 60 years old. She was born in Ohio and raised in New Mexico.

She holds a mechanical engineering degree and an MBA from Cornell University. Her career is diverse and international.

Higgins worked in international development and transportation consulting. She focused on projects in Latin America.

She also served as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer. Her diplomatic postings included Mexico and South Africa.

According to reports, she was a Country Director for the Peace Corps in Belize. She later entered Miami-Dade County politics.

Higgins won a seat on the Miami-Dade County Commission in 2018. She represented District 5, which includes Downtown Miami and Little Havana.

She resigned from that post in November 2025. Florida’s “resign to run” law required her to step down for the mayoral race.

Higgins’s Plan For Miami’s Future

The mayor-elect campaigned on three main issues. Affordable housing was her top priority.

She has a record of pushing for workforce housing units. According to Biscayne Times, she helped secure funding for nearly 7,000 such units.

Her second focus is transit and infrastructure. She advocates for expanded public transportation and better city mobility.

Environmental sustainability is part of this plan. She supports tree-planting initiatives to reduce pollution.

Government efficiency is her third key issue. Higgins promises to streamline city permitting processes.

She believes cutting red tape will unlock growth. This applies to both housing development and small businesses.

Her platform mixes policy pragmatism with community activism. This approach resonated with Miami voters in 2025.

The Miami mayor election has rewritten the city’s political map. Eileen Higgins now leads Miami into a new era after her historic win.