{"id":2519877,"date":"2025-12-10T21:51:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T02:51:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-notches-partys-first-win-in-decades-in-major-red-state-mayors-race\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T21:51:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T02:51:41","slug":"democrat-notches-partys-first-win-in-decades-in-major-red-state-mayors-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-notches-partys-first-win-in-decades-in-major-red-state-mayors-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrat Notches Party\u2019s First Win in Decades in Major Red State Mayor\u2019s Race"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdemocrat-notches-partys-first-win-in-decades-in-major-red-state-mayors-race%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2519877&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-emil-bove-is-highly-qualified-to-be-the-next-federal-judge\/\" title=\"Why Emil Bove Is Highly Qualified To Be The Next Federal Judge\">meaningful political development<\/a>, Miami elected Eileen Higgins, a proud Democrat and Miami-Dade County Commissioner, as mayor in a decisive runoff victory.Higgins defeated Emilio Gonzalez, a Republican endorsed by former President donald Trump, by about 19 percentage points.This win marks the first time since 1998 that a Democrat has been elected mayor of Miami while running explicitly as a Democrat, and higgins is also the city&#8217;s first female mayor. The race, though technically nonpartisan, was heavily partisan and drew national attention as Democrats view it as a hopeful indicator for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/johnson-not-seeking-3rd-term-in-2022-is-probably-my-preference\/\" title=\"Johnson: Not seeking 3rd term in 2022 is probably my preference\">upcoming midterm elections<\/a>, especially following recent Democratic wins in states like New Jersey and Virginia. Despite Florida&#8217;s recent trend toward Republican dominance, Miami remains a stronghold for Democrats, underscoring the city&#8217;s unique political landscape. Both parties are now closely watching these trends ahead of the 2026 midterms.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The state that gave Republicans their biggest win in the 2022 midterm year gave Democrats a reason to cheer on Tuesday &mdash; and gave both parties reason to look hard at next year&rsquo;s midterms.<\/p>\n<p>Campaigning as a &ldquo;proud Democrat,&rdquo; Miami-Dade County Commissioner <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Eileen_Higgins\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Eileen Higgins<\/a> won Miami&rsquo;s mayoral runoff election over a Republican endorsed by President Donald Trump, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/politics\/a-democrat-wins-miami-mayors-race-for-the-first-time-in-nearly-30-years\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Associated Press<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n<p>And it wasn&rsquo;t even close.<\/p>\n<p>Higgins bested Cuban-born former Miami City Manager <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Emilio_T._Gonzalez_(Miami,_Florida)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Emilio Gonzalez<\/a> by about 19 percentage points, according to the Associated Press.<\/p>\n<p>In doing so, she not only made history as the first Democrat running as a Democrat to win the Miami mayoralty since 1998, but she also became the city&rsquo;s first woman mayor.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>And Democrats nationally were quick to note the race&rsquo;s potential implications for the 2026 midterms, after Democratic wins in November in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/republican-jack-ciattarelli-loses-new-jersey-governors-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New Jersey<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/democrat-abigail-spanberger-defeats-winsome-earle-sears-virginia-governors-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Virginia<\/a>, as well as democratic socialist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/breaking-muslim-socialist-zohran-mamdani-elected-mayor-new-york-city\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Zohran Mamdani<\/a>&lsquo;s victory in the New York City mayoral race.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Tonight&rsquo;s result is yet another warning sign to Republicans that voters are fed up with their out-of-touch agenda that is raising costs,&rdquo; Ken Martin, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/democrats-end-30-year-losing-streak-miami-mayoral-race-trump-backed-candidate-falls-short\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Technically, the mayor of Miami is a nonpartisan position, but the mayor&rsquo;s race was an openly partisan contest.<\/p>\n<p>Higgins, as the Associated Press noted, brought in big Democratic names for support, including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Arizona Sen. Reuben Gallego, and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel.<\/p>\n<p>Gonzalez meanwhile had Trump&rsquo;s full-throated support. In a  social media post on Monday, he called Gonzalez &ldquo;FANTASTIC.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is a big and important race!!!&rdquo; he wrote. &ldquo;Vote for Republican Gonzalez. He is FANTASTIC!&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Tuesday&rsquo;s results also stand out because Florida was once the country&rsquo;s biggest swing state, but has become firmly Republican in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>In 2022, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis&rsquo; decisive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-woke-goes-die-desantis-gives-fiery-victory-lap-speech-met-thunderous-applause\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">re-election victory<\/a> was the brightest point for the GOP. While the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >party won narrow control<\/a> of the House, the anticipated &ldquo;red wave&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/not-red-wave-desantis-explains-disappointing-gop-performance-midterms\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">never fully materialized<\/a>. It took until the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2024-elections\/senate-results\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2024 election<\/a>, with Trump at the top of the ticket, for the Republicans to win the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>However, the city of Miami itself, like many urban areas across the country, is stronger ground for Democrats than the rest of the state. Democrats hold a 23,000-voter lead among registered voters, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/miami-gives-dems-hopes-florida-230000464.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Politico<\/a> reported prior to Tuesday&rsquo;s voting, and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris defeated Trump in the city by 1 point.<\/p>\n<p>However, Trump won the state as a whole by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/election\/2024\/results\/florida\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">more than 13 points<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But Trump himself won&rsquo;t be on the ballot anywhere in the 2026 midterms. Republican Party candidates will be.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The state that delivered Republicans their largest victory in the 2022 midterms gave Democrats a cause for celebration on Tuesday-and provided both parties with reasons to closely watch the upcoming midterm elections. Running as a &#8220;proud Democrat,&#8221; Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins won the mayoral runoff in Miami, defeating a Republican candidate backed by former President Donald Trump<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2519878,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2025-12-10T192904.067.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4912,3728,50656],"class_list":["post-2519877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-democrat","tag-election","tag-red-state-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2025-12-10T192904.067.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2519877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2519877"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2519877\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2519881,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2519877\/revisions\/2519881"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2519878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2519877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2519877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2519877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}