'Gringa', woman and progressive: Miami's new mayor gives Democrats renewed hope

BarcelonaFrom the momentum they gained with Zohran Mamdani's victory in New YorkUS Democrats are celebrating. This Wednesday, they achieved another historic milestone: Democrat Eileen Higgins won the Miami mayoral election after three decades of Republican rule, becoming the first woman and the first non-Hispanic person to govern the city. Higgins obtained nearly 60% of the vote, after defeating Republican Emilio T. González, the candidate endorsed by Trump, in the runoff election. González garnered 40.5%. Although the election was officially nonpartisan, Higgins campaigned proudly as a Democrat against González, a former federal official in the Republican administration. The Hispanic vote, which represents nearly 70% of the city's electorate, was key to Higgins' victory and shaped her campaign, in which she criticized Donald Trump's immigration policies. "We're facing rhetoric from elected officials that is very dehumanizing and cruel, especially against immigrant populations," Higgins told the Associated Press after her victory speech. "Miami residents were ready to put an end to it," she added.

Among the Hispanic community, the Democratic candidate, who speaks Spanish, is known by the nickname of the gringa"White," a term Spanish speakers use to refer to white Americans. She herself chose to present herself this way to voters when she first entered politics in 2018. "It just helps people understand who I am, and you know what? I'm a gringa"So what am I supposed to do, deny it?" she told AP.

In addition to advocating for immigrants' rights, Higgins's discourse has focused on the rising cost of living, improving municipal services, and a promise to strengthen local government transparency. The candidate's priorities contrast with those of the other candidates who centered their campaigns on these issues.

Higgins' victory, like the state seat that Democrat Eric Gisler appears to have won in Georgia, represents a symbolic and strategic boost for Democrats in areas that had experienced a conservative shift in recent years, and gives the party a boost heading into the 2026 midterm elections. "Yesterday's victory puts us on the offensive in some of the most competitive political terrain in the country, and we continue to expand the battlefield," said Madison Andrus, spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, after the results were announced. But Republicans fear it could signal a shift in voting patterns among the Hispanic community, which is very large in Florida, where Trump's party wants to maintain control in the run-up to the elections. mid-termThe red has been consolidating in this state in recent years (largely due to the support of voters with a heritage from Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, who associate the left with the regimes they fled), but the priorities of the citizens seem to be shifting and now point towards the cost of living and the rejection of 'im' policies.