Democratic County Commissioner Eileen Higgins and Gov. Ron DeSantis-backed Republican candidate Emilio Gonzalez advanced to a runoff Dec. 9 that will determine Miami’s next mayor after no candidate received 50% of votes. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images; Rebecca Blackwell; The Associated Press)
Gonzalez has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.
"She can point to some votes on a county commission to help put up a building here or a building there. But it really doesn't move the needle," Gonzalez told Fox News Digital. "The affordability issue, it sounds very nice, but it means absolutely nothing because she really hasn't done much when it comes to affordability."
"Right now, Miami is so expensive. Nothing is affordable," he continued. "We're in a situation where our young people, once they graduate from college, they have to leave because the jobs here don't pay enough. The apartments cost too much. Forget about a mortgage. There's nothing in Miami that sells for less than five, six hundred thousand dollars right now. And the jobs will not support that."
Meanwhile, he went after Higgins for talking up her belief in affordability while he said, "She wants to create a city of renters."
"I, on the other hand, want to create a city of owners. I want property owners," he said. "They want to talk about affordability, everybody does. They want to talk about the challenges of public transportation, everybody does. But it comes down to what is the solution, and that's where I think we differ."
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Miami Mayor Francis Suarez speaks during a news conference at Miami City Hall, Oct. 12, 2021. (Lynne Sladky/AP Photo)
Despite Higgins’ election night lead, Gonzalez said he is optimistic about his chances of success.
"This is a generational election," he said. "It’s not going to be an easy race. It'll be a tight race. It's probably going to be maybe a five-point race. But we're not letting up at all. We refuse to give up our future."
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Pointing to other U.S. cities, such as New York City, and countries like Cuba, that have embraced socialist policies, Gonzalez said, "The residents of Miami, the vast majority of whom came from socialist countries where socialists took over and destroyed their cities and their homes and their families, they don't want that here."
"We see what's happened in other cities in the U.S. and… they do not want that here. And I am their candidate, and I'm going to make sure that that doesn't happen here, even though it's happened in other places in Latin America and in the United States."
Fox News Digital reached out to Higgins’ campaign for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
The winner of the runoff election will replace Republican Mayor Francis Suarez, who is term-limited.
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/miami-mayoral-candidate-reveals-how-he-will-flip-script-dem-rivals-strategy