Eileen Higgins is also the first Democrat to hold the position in nearly 30 years.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Miami has a new elected mayor, and a historic one at that, when voters there last night elected the city's first female mayor, Eileen Higgins, a former county commissioner. She is also the first Democrat to hold the seat in nearly 30 years. She defeated Republican Emilio Gonzalez, who had the support of President Trump. For more on this, we turn to WLRN's Joshua Ceballos. Good morning Joshua.
JOSHUA CEBALLOS, BYLINE: Good morning, Michelle.
MARTIN: Tell us more about the results of yesterday's election. I understand you were at a party for Higgins last night. How was it?
CEBALLOS: Yes. It was a truly exciting moment. I mean, Eileen Higgins beat her opponent Emilio Gonzalez by 19 percentage points. I was at a Miami sorority party and the excitement was palpable. You could tell that people felt that this was an important moment not only for the city, but for the entire country. Even though it was just a local mayoral race, it is being celebrated nationally as a big victory for Democrats.
MARTIN: You know, City Hall is technically nonpartisan. At least technically, the race is nonpartisan. So, have local issues dominated or has this always been a national race?
CEBALLOS: Yes. I mean, oddly enough, the candidates were pretty close on the platform. They both talked about cleaning up City Hall, which had a reputation for being rather dysfunctional due to some political drama. They both talked about addressing the high cost of living in Miami, which I think was the focus of many of the voters I spoke with throughout the election. And Higgins dealt with pressing issues at the local level – accessibility, transit, protecting the local environment. But she also made some hints about larger national and statewide issues, such as protecting the LGBTQ+ community and creating a home for migrants. Gonzalez didn't hold elected office, so there was no legislation he could point to, but his platform included cutting property taxes, a line that local Republicans in Florida are pushing.
MARTIN: How are both sides reacting to this? So let's start with the Democrats.
CEBALLOS: Yes. The party sees this as a huge victory and a real response to President Trump's policies, especially on immigration. After Higgins' victory, I spoke with Laura Kelly, chairwoman of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party. She said the victory was a rebuke to Trump and a sign that the Democratic Party in Florida is not dead.
LAURA KELLY: It speaks to the present moment. This shows how the country feels. And I hope our elected representatives in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. will listen to us in Miami and Miami Beach and make different choices.
CEBALLOS: Both candidates tried to run a fairly nonpartisan race, but they couldn't help it when things got pretty partisan when Trump endorsed Gonzalez. My colleague Daniel Rivero attended the Gonzalez watch party, and local Republicans told him they thought it was a bad sign for their party heading into next year's midterm elections.
MARTIN: You know, Miami is a majority Latino city. This is approximately 70% Hispanic. Does this say anything about the Latino vote as a whole? Does this mean anything about the broader trend heading into next year's midterm elections?
CEVALLOS: That's a big question. You know, the experts I've talked to have been watching this race to see if the Latino vote will shift away from the Republican supermajority after the first year of President Trump's new term. Many Miami residents have been staunch Trump supporters in the last few elections. But – and this may lead – this result may signal a turnaround. There is a sense that the president's immigration policies, such as ICE detentions and rising costs of living, may have made some voters dissatisfied with Trump. And I should note that Eileen Higgins is the first non-Hispanic woman to hold this position since 1996.
MARTIN: This is Joshua Ceballos from WLRN in Miami. Joshua, thank you.
CEVALLOS: Thank you very much.
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