Miami Is (Finally) Being Run By a Woman

It’s about time.

By Danielle Han  |  December 10, 2025 | 3:39pm
Photo: Getty Images Politics
Miami Is (Finally) Being Run By a Woman

The Magic City made history on Tuesday when, in a runoff election, the second-largest city in Florida elected Eileen Higgins as its first female mayor—also making her the first Democrat to win the seat in 28 years and adding yet another splash to the burgeoning Blue Wave. It was a landslide victory for Higgins, who defeated the Trump-and-DeSantis-backed Emilio González with 59% of the vote. Given that Trump won Miami by 12% in 2024, her win is a clear sign of shifting political tides and another reminder of how unpopular his administration has become.

While it’s a nonpartisan election, both Democrats and Republicans treated it as another crystal ball for what we might expect going into the 2026 midterms. On Sunday, Trump called it a “big, important” race and said González was a “fantastic” candidate, while Higgins received endorsements from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson, who helped push to get an abortion rights amendment on the state’s ballot in 2024.

Higgins is a former Miami-Dade County commissioner, and calls herself “La Gringa” (she is white and non-Hispanic). She was elected to the commissioner position in 2018 and has since focused on affordable housing, public transportation and infrastructure, and environment—all issues she has vowed to continue championing as mayor, as well as pushing back against the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies.

“We will make a city that belongs to everyone,” she said in her victory speech, emphasizing seniors, young people, and immigrants. Speaking to the Associated Press, she said, “We are facing rhetoric from elected officials that is so dehumanizing and cruel, especially against immigrant populations. The residents of Miami were ready to be done with that.” 

“Done with it” is no exaggeration. Just a stone’s throw from Miami is Alligator Alcatraz, an ICE facility rife with torture, disappearances, and rumors of mistreatment. Speaking about the prison on the campaign trail, Higgins condemned the prison as cruel, saying, “They built cages for human beings rather than affordable housing for them,” she told El País a few days ahead of the election. “[Trump] and I have very different points of view on how we should treat our residents, many of whom are immigrants.”

While Higgins did not explicitly focus on abortion rights in her campaign, many reproductive rights advocacy groups are optimistic about her win, with Ruth’s List Florida CEO Christina Diamond saying it marks a “growing cohort of pro-choice women leading cities, big and small, across the state.” With anti-abortion Attorney General James Uthmeier (who just can’t leave Planned Parenthood alone) and Gov. Ron DeSantis (who’s as anti-abortion as he is anti-public health) leading the state, Florida needs all the non-anti-abortion politicians it can get.

Higgins will be taking over from Francis Suarez, who used his eight years in office to brag about his Crossfit and flex his muscles. And while it’s too soon to tell exactly what kind of mayor she’ll be, I’m just glad I don’t have to see another one of Suarez’s videos of himself pumping iron. 

 
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