Miami elects mayor in an officially non-partisan election but marked by the sustained Republican growth in Florida
In Miami, where the next mayor and two city commissioners will be chosen this Tuesday, attendance at the polls at mid-afternoon has been just over 17%, according to preliminary estimates.
At the voting precinct in Robert King Park, west of downtown Flagler Street, people have come to vote “in dribs and drabs, without much pressure, but they keep coming,” said Sylvia Latimer, an employee of the Elections Department. There has not been a line at any time of the day, but since the precinct opened at 7 am there were already some people waiting to vote, and the flow of people has been maintained.
Jamie Fajardo, 23, who went to that precinct around noon, says she voted for Ken Russell for mayor of Miami. Russell is a former City Commissioner who has campaigned on issues that Fajardo finds critical, such as affordable housing, the environment and sea level rise. Fajardo says she has followed Russell on social media and has been impacted by his speech. “We need a rent cap. I still live with my family because there is no affordable housing,” said the young woman as she left the premises.
Thirteen candidates — including members of families with a long history in local politics — have run for Miami mayor, an officially nonpartisan race, but one that comes against the backdrop of Miami-Dade County’s Republican turn in the 2024 presidential election, after having been a Democratic stronghold for years.
The position of mayor of the City of Miami does not include a vote on the five-member Commission, but does grant veto power. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, a second round of elections will be held on December 9. The current mayor, Francis Suarez, attracted national attention by briefly running as a Republican presidential candidate in 2023, although his campaign was short-lived and he ended up suspending it. In addition to Miami, the cities of Hialeah, Miami Beach, Homestead and Surfside are also holding municipal elections today.
In recent years, the City of Miami has been marked by a series of political and ethical scandals that have raised questions about transparency and the use of power in local government. These include accusations of abuse of power, clashes between commissioners and allegations of the use of legal tools to intimidate political opponents. More recently, the removal of campaign signs in public spaces sparked accusations of election interference. Mayor Suárez has also been the subject of investigations for alleged improper payments and ethically questionable benefits, such as tickets to exclusive events. These controversies have intensified citizen concerns about ethics and accountability, and led to the creation in August 2024 of the Office of the Inspector General, charged with monitoring potential abuses and promoting greater transparency in local administration.
