December 10, 2025
Don’t freak out about the Miami mayoral election, and here’s why:
By Joseph Ford Cotto
Miami’s mayoral election has been framed as a political earthquake, but those sweeping claims don’t hold water. They do, however, evince the ignorance of all too many, across party lines, about the actual power structure in the city, Miami-Dade County, and Florida.
What happened in the mayoral runoff deserves attention, but it is hardly the warning siren some Democrat operatives want it to be, nor is it a reason for Republicans to panic. Miami politics simply don’t function the way national narratives assume.
Let’s start with what this race actually was. The “nonpartisan” mayor of Miami holds a largely ceremonial role. Real executive authority rests with the city manager, who can only serve with the approval of the five-member city commission. That “nonpartisan” commission currently has a stable 3-2 Republican majority.
The mayor may nominate a manager, but the commission decides who ultimately runs the city. Power isn’t shifting in some theatrical way.
Beyond that, the partisan landscape inside the city is very different from the broader county. Miami voters lean blue by registration, with over 61,000 Democrats to roughly 53,000 Republicans. That imbalance has kept the city competitive for Democrats even as Republicans increasingly dominate Miami-Dade County itself.
Donald Trump won Miami-Dade by double-digits in 2024, taking over 55 percent of the vote. Yet he narrowly lost the municipality of Miami, a reminder that the Magic City’s elections sit on different political terrain.
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https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/12/don_t_freak_out_about_the_miami_mayoral_election_and_here_s_why.html
