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Miami is holding a rare runoff election for mayor today. Democrats are watching to see if Latinos in south Florida shift toward their party. From member station WLRN in Miami, Joshua Ceballos reports.
JOSHUA CEBALLOS, BYLINE: This is the first competitive mayoral race in the city of Miami in nearly two decades. For the past 20 years, the mayor has been voted in without a runoff, and the position has been consistently held by a Latino Republican. But this year is different. Republican and former city manager Emilio Gonzalez faces off against Eileen Higgins. She is a Democrat and has served on the Miami-Dade County commission. If Higgins wins, she'd be the city's first female elected mayor and the first non-Hispanic in decades. Observers, like political analyst Susan MacManus with the University of South Florida, say this race could be a bellwether for the Latino vote in 2026.
SUSAN MACMANUS: Most outsiders looking in at this, their No. 1 question is, is the Latino vote noticeably going to switch from Republican to Democrat, and if so, how much?
CEBALLOS: President Trump is likely to cast a shadow over the local election. He endorsed Gonzalez, who was the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under George W. Bush. Gonzalez says he wants strict immigration standards.
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EMILIO GONZALEZ: I'm in support of a border policy. We did not have a border policy.
CEBALLOS: He is also supporting Trump's move to end temporary protected status, which provides a legal way to stay in the U.S. for several migrant groups, including Venezuelans. Higgins, meanwhile, is critical of policies that led to the development of the ICE detention facility dubbed Alligator Alcatraz, which has been widely criticized for harsh confinement practices.
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EILEEN HIGGINS: From Washington and from Tallahassee, there is this culture of trickle-down hatred. We have governments that are building cages for people rather than building housing.
CEBALLOS: Immigration issues, experts say, are dividing Latino voters in south Florida and may not only influence this mayor's race but impact midterm elections nationwide next fall.
For NPR News, I'm Joshua Ceballos in Miami.
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