By Ethan Mannello and Samantha Rodriguez
Miami-Dade Congress
27th Congressional District
Incumbent Republican Congresswomen Maria Elvira Salazar defeats Democrat Lucia Baez-Geller, a member of the county school board. This district was won by Hillary Clinton in 2016, but Trump carried it narrowly in 2020. Salazar was elected in 2020 and has survived her last two congressional challengers. AP called the race at 7:22pm.
28th Congressional District
Incumbent Republican Congressman and former Miami-Dade mayor Carlos Gimenez defeats Democrat challenger and retired navy commander Phil Ehr.
Gimenez holds on to his seat for the second election in a row. He defeated 26th district incumbent Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in 2020 but his seat was redistricted in 2022 and he instead decided to run for the newly created 28th. AP called the race at 7:24pm.
Miami-Dade County
County Sheriff
Rosie Cordero-Stutz beat Democrat James Reyes in the first election for Miami Dade-County sheriff in more than six decades. Cordero-Stutz was endorsed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and President-elect Donald Trump.
Cordero-Stutz has been working at the Miami Dade Police Department for nearly 30 years.
County Commission District 7
Raquel Regalado a Republican running in a non-partisan race, wins a second term as District 7 Commissioner according to the Miami Herald. Regalado defeated former Pinecrest mayor Cindy Lerner, in a rematch from 2020.
This district contains parts of Coral Gables, the City of Miami, Key Biscayne, Pinecrest, and South Miami.
Property Appraiser
Tomás Regalado defeats Marisol Zenteno, according to the Miami Herald, to become the county property appraiser. Regalado is a former broadcast journalist and served as the mayor of Miami from 2009 to 2017.
Straw Ballot Question
Miami-Dade County voters answered yes to the straw ballot poll, requesting the county to take actions to expand free public Wi-Fi access county wide. This includes advocating for changes to federal or state law if needed.
Aventura
City Commissioner
Gustavo F. Blachman defeated Michael Isaac Jacobs and Alberto Zaltzberg taking seat 1 on the Aventura City Commission according to the Miami Herald.
Cindy Orlinsky defeated Gary Pyott and take seat 2 on the Aventura City Commission according to the Miami Herald.
Miami Gardens
City Council Member
Linda Julien is elected as an at-large council member to the Miami Gardens City Council defeating Karen Hunter-Jackson by over 10,000 votes according to the Miami Herald.
Broward County
County Sheriff
Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony beats Charles Whatley for reelection. The Ron DeSantis appointee will serve four more years at the helm of the county’s law enforcement.
The Democrat is a Marine Corps veteran that has worked to improve first responder training after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting.
Commissioner District One
Democrat Nan H. Rich remains the Broward County Commissioner after beating Republican Herbert E. “Herb” Vargas. The former Floridian Senator was honored by President Bill Clinton to serve as a United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Council member in Washington, DC.
Monroe County
Commissioner District Three
Republican James “Jim” Scholl remains the commissioner after winning the seat over Democrat Chris Massicotte by nearly 10,000 votes. The DeSantis appointee returns to the seat.
The DeSantis appointee served in the Navy as the Commanding Officer of Naval Air Station in Key West. DeSantis appointed Scholl to the Florida Defense Support Task Force in 2023.
Miami Referendums
Referendum #1
Voters overwhelmingly passed referendum #1, which changes the city’s charter, with almost 100,000 more votes for yes than no according to the Miami Herald.
This referendum requires individuals seeking city commission office to have “continuously” resided in the district they are running in for at least one year “immediately preceding qualifying” for office. This referendum also applies to mayoral candidates, requiring them to reside in the city they are running for office in under the same conditions.
This is a change to the city’s charter, which previously said that candidates were required to reside in the district or city they were seeking office in “for at least one year prior to qualifying.”
Referendum #2 and #3
Voters approved the redevelopment proposals to transform Watson Island, home to Jungle Island, a tropical theme park with exotic animals, into apartments and public areas.
Ecosresiliency Miami will purchase 5.4 acres for $135 million to turn Jungle Island into condo towers on the north side of the island. It will make the other thirteen acres into a large park.
BH3 and Merrimac Ventures look to transform the south side of the island into a living development called Watson Harbour. It will also purchase 3.2 acres from the city for a minimum of $25 million.
The developers will give the city a combined $24 million dollars to be spent on affordable housing and infrastructure. $2 million will also be provided annually for maintenance.
Referendum #4
Voters passed referendum #4 giving the county Elections Department more time to prepare and plan for runoff elections in Miami. Runoffs used to take place on the third Tuesday after the first Monday in November, but now will occur on the second Tuesday in December. A small change, but gives the Elections Department at least a week more to prepare for runoff elections.