MIAMI — Voters in Miami will return to the polls Tuesday to choose their next mayor, after a crowded field of 13 candidates failed to produce a winner with majority support in the Nov. 4 election.

In the first round of voting, Eileen Higgins emerged as the top vote-getter with roughly 36 percent of ballots cast, but she fell short of the more than 50 percent threshold required to win outright.

Following her was Emilio González, with approximately 19 percent of the vote.

Should either candidate secure more than half the votes in the runoff, that person will become Miami’s next mayor. Otherwise, the city may again require a follow-up to determine a winner.

For Higgins, the runoff represents a chance to make history — she would be the first woman to serve as mayor of Miami.

“We have been living through years of nothing but turmoil, corruption, disruption, a bunch of guys yelling at each other all the time, and in the meantime, you can’t get a permit to open a small business, you can’t get a permit to fix your roof, our streets are still flooded,” Higgins said last month. “I’m an engineer by trade, so I know how to get to work and solve people’s problems. That’s my goal when I become the mayor of the City of Miami.”

González, meanwhile, ran a campaign focused on reform and accountability, pledging to root out corruption at city hall.

González received support from many prominent conservatives in the state, including Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The Dec. 9 runoff marks the first time since 2001 that Miami has required a second round to select its mayor.

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