President Donald Trump has endorsed Emilio Gonzalez, a Republican candidate, in the upcoming Miami mayoral runoff. The election is scheduled for December 9 and is officially non-partisan. Trump made his endorsement public on Truth Social, praising Gonzalez as someone who would “fight tirelessly to Grow the Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Advance MADE IN THE U.S.A., Unleash American Energy DOMINANCE, Keep our now very secure border SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment.” Despite misspelling Gonzalez’s name in his post, Trump’s support could influence voters as Gonzalez seeks to close the gap with Eileen Higgins.
Eileen Higgins, a former Miami-Dade County commissioner and moderate Democrat, led the initial November 4 election with 36 percent of the vote among thirteen candidates. Gonzalez finished second with 19.5 percent. Since no candidate secured more than half of the votes, a runoff was triggered between Higgins and Gonzalez.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Congressman Byron Donalds have also endorsed Gonzalez. It remains uncertain whether these endorsements will translate into increased financial backing from South Florida’s real estate sector.
Higgins’ campaign released a statement emphasizing her cross-party appeal: “Eileen has been elected three times by Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike because she shows up, solves problems and delivers for everyone.” The campaign also highlighted her broad coalition of support.
Gonzalez has not commented publicly since Trump’s endorsement. His Mission Miami political action committee raised $651,215 for the first round of voting but did not receive significant contributions from major developers or real estate investors. However, six entities linked to business partners Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla contributed a total of $20,000 to his PAC. Fuller and Pinilla are developers focused in Little Havana who previously won a legal case against former city commissioner Joe Carollo.
Carollo and Higgins received the most donations from real estate interests during their campaigns. Some donors contributed to both candidates; for example, law firm Bercow Radell Fernandez Larkin & Tapanes gave $10,000 each to Carollo’s PAC and Higgins’ committee. The same firm co-hosted a recent fundraiser for Higgins at Brightline Station in downtown Miami alongside other industry figures such as Jose Gonzalez of Florida East Coast Industries (Brightline’s parent company), Nelson Stabile of Integra Investments, Jonathan Raiffe of Adler Properties, and Sara Adler of Adler Properties.
State law limits individual contributions to mayoral campaigns at $1,000 but places no cap on donations to political action committees.
The Florida Democratic Party is supporting Higgins through mailers criticizing Gonzalez’s tenure as city manager from 2017 to 2020. Nevertheless, her campaign maintains that it is not framing the race along partisan lines: “The only person trying to inject partisan politics into this race is her opponent, who continues to chase out-of-town endorsements instead of focusing on the issues Miami residents face every day,” according to another campaign statement. “Eileen’s campaign is powered by the people who know this city best — Miamians who want affordability, safer neighborhoods and a City Hall they can trust.”
