Miami has had Republican mayors for decades, but the office is up for grabs today

Welcome to Miami, where the two major parties are watching the latest Republican-held office that Democrats are making a last-minute push to flip this year — the city’s mayoralty.

Welcome to Miami, where the two major parties are watching the latest Republican-held office that Democrats are making a last-minute push to flip this year — the city’s mayoralty.

The city hasn’t had a Democratic mayor since the late 1990s, and dramatic shifts among Hispanic voters, particularly in South Florida, have melted away Democrats’ edge in recent elections.

But unlike in other recent special elections for Republican-controlled seats, Vice President Kamala Harris narrowly carried the city of Miami last year while losing Miami-Dade County. That means a Democratic flip is well within reach for former County Commissioner Eileen Higgins, who is running against Republican Emilio T. González, a businessman and former city manager endorsed by President Donald Trump.

Both have pitched themselves as clean breaks from past city politics and promise to address affordability issues, which looms especially large in South Florida, as it has done across the country.

While the candidates’ solutions to those problems may be local, the race has been swept up into a national fight, as both parties jockey for political momentum ahead of next year’s midterm elections. In Miami, that means a technically nonpartisan election with clear partisan trappings.