Republican Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez defeated Democratic Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in Florida's 26th Congressional District on Tuesday night, a major victory for the GOP in Florida's most competitive U.S. House race.
Gimenez, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, will head to Washington after winning his first partisan race in a political career that dates back to 2004. Gimenez's victory shows that Republicans still have a strong base of voters in Miami's western and southern suburbs.
"When I first ran for mayor, they didn't think I was going to win that, too," Gimenez said Tuesday night, in a victory speech outside his home with family by his side. "I promise you I'll be a much more effective congressperson and reach across the aisle. I won't be as partisan as my predecessor."
Gimenez was buoyed by the president's improved performance in Miami-Dade County. After losing Florida's largest county by nearly 30% in 2016, Trump cut his deficit to single digits in his 2020 race against Democratic nominee Joe Biden. In Florida's 26th Congressional District, which is more GOP-friendly than the county as a whole, that margin helped Gimenez win.
In a statement, Mucarsel-Powell declined to concede to Gimenez. The Associated Press called the race for Gimenez at 10:13 p.m. Eastern time.
"This election has seen historic levels of turnout in Florida and across the nation, and we are still waiting for all the votes to be counted," Mucarsel-Powell said in a statement. "What we are seeing now is our democratic process at work. I look forward to a final result when the votes have been counted and everyone's voice has been heard."
Gimenez was considered one of the GOP's best U.S. House recruits in the country this year due to his high name recognition as county mayor and his status as a Republican seen by many voters as a moderate. Throughout the campaign, he dominated local news cycles, making headlines as the county's leader during the coronavirus pandemic, overshadowing Mucarsel-Powell's role as a junior legislator.
Mucarsel-Powell and her allies consistently outraised him and spent millions on TV ads that branded Gimenez as "corrupt Carlos," but in the end, the attacks didn't stick. The ineffectiveness of Mucarsel-Powell's negative campaigning is also evidence that Gimenez's leadership during the pandemic, when he had the power to open and close businesses and impose curfews, was seen as effective by voters.
Gimenez struck a middle ground on COVID while balancing his work as mayor with running a congressional campaign. He enacted stricter mask mandates and curfews than Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' more permissive policies but ignored calls from Democrats and some public health officials to reinstitute stay-at-home orders during the pandemic's summer South Florida spike.
Less than 36 hours after he was booed by some Trump supporters over his handling of COVID at the president's final Miami rally before Election Day, Gimenez's approach was vindicated by voters.
"I did listen to the scientists," Gimenez said. "We won't know until two or three years down the line, but right now we're doing what we think is the right thing."
Jose Rodriguez, a 49-year-old registered Republican from Westchester, said he voted for Gimenez because he liked the way he managed the pandemic.
"He didn't do a bad job handling COVID-19 in Miami," Rodriguez said. "I trust him to do a good job in the House."
Benjamin Perez cast his vote for Gimenez at Homestead Senior High School on Tuesday. He said that while he admired Mucarsel-Powell for what she had done in "such a short period of time," Gimenez had the "experience" for the job.
"I have been following Carlos Gimenez for many years now and have seen the progress he has made for the city," he told the Miami Herald, also adding that he approved of the mayor's response to the coronavirus.
In his victory speech, Gimenez acknowledged the criticism he faced from Democrats and Republicans over implementing mask mandates and a curfew but said the middle-of-the-road approach is what Miami-Dade County wants.
"I got criticized for being too strict, I got criticized for not being strict enough," Gimenez said. "I think I went down the middle and that's where I think most of America is."
Gimenez's TV ads highlighted his work as a firefighter and mayor rather than focusing on partisan attacks that characterized TV ads run by outside groups and Mucarsel-Powell's campaign.
Gimenez was also helped by Trump's improved performance with Cuban American voters in South Florida from four years ago. Even though Gimenez voted for Hillary Clinton four years ago, he tied himself to Trump's candidacy from the moment he announced his intention to run in January.
Gimenez said he supports his party's effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act through the courts, but that Congress must pass something to replace it. District 26 is home to nearly 100,000 "Obamacare" recipients.
On Tuesday, he said he's ready to tackle hot-button issues like health care and climate change in Washington.
"The one thing about me is I love to learn and I'm a quick learner," Gimenez said.
