Eleven candidates are running in the nonpartisan election for mayor of the city of Miami, Florida, on November 4, 2025. If necessary, a runoff will be scheduled for November 18, 2025. The filing deadline for this election is September 20, 2025. Incumbent Francis Suarez is term-limited. Four candidates lead in media attention, fundraising, and polling: Emilio Gonzalez, Eileen Higgins, Ken Russell, and Xavier Suarez.

On June 26, 2025, the Miami City Commission voted to postpone this election until 2026 in order to move city elections to even years. On July 21, 2025, Circuit Court Judge Valerie R. Manno Schurr ruled that the ordinance conflicted with the Miami-Dade County charter because changing the city’s election date would require a voter referendum. The ruling means that the election will take place on November 4.

Gonzalez is a Florida Treasury Investment Council member and a former Miami city manager. He is campaigning on reducing taxes and says, “We can eliminate property taxes for homestead property owners while protecting vital services like public safety and infrastructure.” He is also campaigning on reducing city work regulations, saying he would “build a workforce to overhaul permitting and licensing—sparking opportunity and empowering residents and entrepreneurs, not just the well-connected.” Gonzalez is affiliated with the Republican Party.

Higgins is a commissioner for District 5 on the Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners. She is campaigning on affordability, and her website says she would support “cutting through red tape and ending corruption so that our city’s government can get to work creating a prosperous and affordable future for all residents.” Higgins is also campaigning on improving the city’s resilience to environmental disasters. Her website says she will “protect Biscayne Bay, invest in flood mitigations, and secure a resilient future for our city.” Higgins is affiliated with the Democratic Party.

Russell is a former commissioner for the city of Miami. Russell is campaigning on affordable housing and said, “The government has to step in and create the right atmosphere and incentives for the world of development to provide the product that we want.” Russell is also campaigning on expanding the city commission from five seats to seven, saying it would “really help increase accountability and local representation.” Russell is affiliated with the Democratic Party.

Suarez served as mayor of Miami from 1985 to 1993 and from 1997 to 1998, and is the father of incumbent Francis Suarez. He is campaigning on his experience in government and as a private citizen, writing in an opinion piece that he would bring “perspective, steadiness and an even deeper sense of purpose. I can still think, handle public speaking and take decisive action.” Suarez is also campaigning on public transportation and writes that he is “pushing to extend free public transit countywide.” Suarez is affiliated with the Republican Party.

The changing of election dates has become an issue in the race. Gonzalez sued the city over the ordinance and said, “If we want to move our election, we should ask the voters.” Higgins also proposed a new referendum to move election years, saying she supports “shortening the next Mayor’s term and putting the question on the 2026 ballot to modernize our democracy without undermining it.” Russell opposed the move, calling it a “slippery slope of bad government — where you have good intentions, but you start bending the rules to get there,” and supported letting voters weigh in on the issue. Suarez supported both moving elections to even years and Gonzalez’s lawsuit. Suarez said that he was “directly involved in the selection of counsel and contributed significantly to the strategic approach.”

Another candidate, commissioner and former mayor Joe Carollo, may enter the race. Carollo and Suarez were mayoral candidates in 1997. Suarez was declared the winner until a Florida appeals court overturned his win on March 11, 1998, due to ballot fraud.

Laura Anderson, Christian Cevallos, Alyssa Crocker, Ijamyn Gray, Michael A. Hepburn, Maxwell Martinez, and June Savage are also running.

As of 2025, Miami has term limits. Mayors can serve two consecutive four-year terms and can run again after a four-year break.