Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava crushed a large field of challengers in Tuesday night鈥檚 primary to win re-election and avoid a Nov. 5 runoff.
The non-partisan race for county mayor was open to all registered Miami-Dade voters, and by winning over 50% of the votes she was able to claim victory outright, without a runoff election in November. She won more than 58% of votes, according to the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections office.
Six candidates had challenged the incumbent mayor to manage one of the nation鈥檚 largest and most diverse counties and oversee its $11.7 billion budget, and thousands of employees.
READ MORE: Primary Election Day in South Florida
Amid cheering supporters at the Ball and Chain nightclub in Little Havana, Levine Cava promised to center her second term in office on affordable housing, transportation, public safety and infrastructure.
鈥淎t a time when so many want to divide us, they put up walls between us based on political differences, silencing voices of reason and progress, in Miami-Dade we have shown that we can lead differently,鈥� said Levine Cava. 鈥淛ust as I promised you four years ago, tonight, I again promise to lead this way for four more years.鈥�
Speaking to WLRN, Levine Cava said the strong support shows that the community has placed 鈥渢rust鈥� in her administration to continue on for four more years.
鈥淚 won decisively, so I can lead decisively. That is the plan,鈥� Levine Cava told WLRN.
In a statement earlier in the evening, she had outlined some of her plans for her second term.
"We will double-down on our housing challenges, invest in our infrastructure so we can be future ready, prioritize healthy and safe communities and ensure we are a resilient county that protects and preserves our environment," she said. "We will continue to partner with our business community so together we can chart a path for progress to take on challenges big and small."
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried applauded the victory, noting that Levine Cava is the county's first woman mayor.
鈥淎fter four years leading one of the largest, most complex, and most important counties in the country, Mayor Levine Cava has proven herself a bold leader capable of delivering results for the people of Miami-Dade County," said Fried in a statement.
"Her vision, integrity, and commitment to results shows through in her work 鈥� she鈥檚 lowered crime, tackled the affordability crisis head on, prioritized the environment, and strengthened the local economy."
A rebuttal to Republicans
The sweeping victory of the registered Democrat presents a stark rebuttal to arguments made by Republicans and conservatives that a major political realignment was underway, and that they are going to flip the once-solidly Democratic Miami-Dade 鈥渞ed鈥� in 2024. Republican Governor Ron DeSantis in his successful 2022 race by 11 percentage points.
But that result was a mere fluke, argued Democratic State Representative Ashley Gantt, who just won her own reelection bid outright on Tuesday night. DeSantis didn鈥檛 win the county so much as Democrats lost it, she said.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think Miami-Dade is red. Miami-Dade has been apathetic and Miami-Dade was uninspired by the top of the ticket in 2022,鈥� Gantt told WLRN. Democrats simply did not show up to vote for that election, she said.
The winds are quickly shifting this election cycle, said Annette Taddeo, the Democratic nominee for the Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts and Comptroller office.
鈥淚f Democrats don鈥檛 show up it鈥檒l happen again. But that鈥檚 not going to happen with Kamala on the ticket and with so many countywide, qualified candidates for every single constitutional office,鈥� said Taddeo.
Levine Cava had been heavily favored to win re-election against several challengers, including Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid and former Surfside Mayor Shlomo Danzinger.
Among the mayor鈥檚 most bizarre challengers in the non-partisan race was firebrand Cuban-American and social media influencer Alex Otaola, who hosts YouTube shows that draws in audiences across Cuba and across the entire Cuban diaspora, from Miami to Madrid. He raised more than $120,000 through the end of July from a staggering 14,000 donors.
Conservative voters split their votes between Otaola, winning nearly 12%, and Cid, who won nearly 23%.
During the campaign, Levine Cava landed the coveted endorsement of the Miami Herald Editorial Board, which described her as the kind of 鈥渓eader who will balance our economic, social and environmental needs.鈥�
