2020 Miami-Dade County mayoral election explained

The 2020 Miami-Dade County mayoral election was held on November 3, 2020, to determine the mayor of Miami-Dade County, Florida. County Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava defeated fellow commissioner Esteban Bovo. Incumbent Mayor Carlos A. Giménez, first elected in 2011, was term-limited; instead running for the U.S. House of Representatives to represent .

The election was officially non-partisan. A top-two primary election for this office was held on August 18, 2020, with county commissioners Esteban Bovo and Daniella Levine Cava advancing to a runoff election scheduled for November 3, 2020.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Candidates

Advanced to run-off

• Esteban Bovo, Miami-Dade County commissioner (Republican)^[4]
• Daniella Levine Cava, Miami-Dade County commissioner (Democratic)^[5]

Eliminated in primary

• Monique Nicole Barley, businesswoman and daughter of former State Representative Roy Hardemon (Democratic)^[6]
• Carlos de Armas, businessman and Uber driver (independent, write-in)^[7]
• Ludmilla Domond, real estate agent (Republican)^[8]
• Alex Penelas, former mayor of Miami-Dade County (Democratic)^[9]
• Xavier Suarez, Miami-Dade County commissioner and former mayor of Miami (Independent)

Withdrawn

• Robert Ingram Burke, candidate for mayor of Miami in 2017 (Independent)^{[10] [11]}
• Jean Monestime, Miami-Dade County commissioner (Democratic)^[12]
• Juan Zapata, Miami-Dade County commissioner (Republican)^{[13] [14]}

Declined

• Luther Campbell, rapper and candidate for mayor of Miami-Dade County in 2011 (Democratic)^[15]
• Carlos Curbelo, former United States representative (Republican)^{[16] [17]}
• Carlos Lopez-Cantera, former Lieutenant Governor of Florida (Republican)^[18]
• Bernie Navarro, former president of the Latin Builders Association (Republican)

Primary election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	class=small	Sample size	Margin of error	Daniella Levine Cava	Alex Penelas	Esteban Bovo	Xavier Suarez	Other	Undecided
Change Research (D)[19]	April 30 – May 3, 2020	487 (RV)	± 4.4%		22%		20%	14%	11%	10%		23%
Dyanmic Research/Daniella Levine Cava[20]	July 20–23, 2020	457 (RV)	± 4.9%		26%		22%		22%	15%	2%	13%
Unnamed independent pollster/Political Cortadito[21]	July 30 – August 3, 2020	400 (V)	–		20%	15%		19%	10%	–	–
Change Research/Daniella Levine Cava[22]	August 3–6, 2020	473 (LV)	± 4.5%		25%	20%		21%	9%	4%		22%
Frederick Polls/Alex Penelas[23]	August 7–9, 2020	350 (LV)	± 5%		22%		27%	20%	11%	6%	16%
National Victory Strategies/P3 Management[24]	August 12–13, 2020	200 (LV)	± 5%		18%		18%		21%	9%	–		26%

Results

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Daniella Levine Cava	Esteban Bovo	Undecided
Change Research/Daniella Levine Cava[25]	August 3–6, 2020	– (V)	–		39%	28%	33%
Bendixen and Amandi/Miami Herald[26]	September 1–4, 2020	500 (LV)	± 4.5%		39%	32%	29%
Change Research/Daniella Levine Cava[27]	September 14–17, 2020	436 (V)	± 4.7%		45%	32%	13%
Amandi On Air/Miami Herald[28]	October 1–4, 2020	600 (V)	–		45%	35%	–
SEA Research/Daniella Levine Cava[29]	October 20–22, 2020	407 (LV)	± 5.3%		45%	30%	25%

Results

Notes

Partisan clients

External links

Official campaign websites for mayoral candidates

• Esteban Bovo (R) for Mayor
• Daniella Levine Cava (D) for Mayor

Notes and References

1. Web site: Summary of 2020 Qualifying Information for Miami-Dade County Candidate. October 2, 2019. Miami-Dade County Elections Department. March 6, 2020.
2. Web site: Election Calendar. www.miamidade.gov. en. 2020-03-06.
3. Web site: Summary Results – Election Night Reporting. 2020-08-19. enr.electionsfl.org.
4. News: Hanks. Douglas. September 30, 2019. Three county commissioners now running for Miami-Dade mayor in 2020. Miami Herald. March 6, 2020.
5. Web site: Nicol. Ryan. 2020-02-28. Daniella Levine Cava talks breaking 'glass ceilings' in new ad. 2020-03-06. Florida Politics. en-US.
6. News: Hanks. Douglas. The Hardemon family has a new candidate, and she is running for Miami-Dade mayor. August 16, 2019. Miami Herald. March 6, 2020.
7. News: Hanks. Douglas. August 12, 2020. A backseat connection with voters? This Uber driver is running for Miami-Dade mayor. Miami Herald. August 19, 2020.
8. Web site: Ludmilla Domond's Profile. HomeLight. en. 2020-03-06.
9. News: Hanks. Douglas. Fifteen years later, Alex Penelas running for Miami-Dade mayor again. October 1, 2019. Miami Herald. March 6, 2020.
10. Web site: Penichet. Breno. September 29, 2015. Case PI15-021: Verification of Law Enforcement status. March 6, 2020. Miami Commission on Ethics & Public Trust.
11. Web site: Hanks. Douglas. Miami-Dade mayor's race losing its first candidate as Juan Zapata calls it quits. 2020-03-06. www.msn.com.
12. News: Hanks. Douglas. A fourth county commissioner jumps into the 2020 race for Miami-Dade mayor. October 2, 2019. Miami Herald. March 6, 2020.
13. Web site: Nicol. Ryan. 2019-01-28. Former County Commissioner Juan Zapata files for Miami-Dade Mayor. 2020-03-06. Florida Politics. en-US.
14. News: Hanks. Douglas. January 24, 2020. Miami-Dade mayor's race losing its first candidate as Juan Zapata calls it quits. Miami Herald. March 6, 2020.
15. News: Hanks. Douglas. January 31, 2019. It's stealthy now, but the 2020 race for Miami-Dade mayor is about to get crowded. Miami Herald. March 6, 2020.
16. News: Daugherty. Alex. Curbelo considering 2020 Miami-Dade mayoral bid. November 29, 2018. Miami Herald. March 6, 2020.
17. News: Hanks. Douglas. A former GOP congressman who took on Trump won't run for Miami-Dade mayor in 2020. August 22, 2019. Miami Herald. March 6, 2020.
18. Web site: Gancarski. A. G.. 2019-09-19. Former Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera now stumps for hemp. 2020-03-06. Florida Politics. en-US.
19. Web site: Daniella Levine Cava internal poll shows dead heat in Miami-Dade mayoral race. Ryan. Nicol. May 7, 2020.
20. Web site: Daniella Levine Cava internal poll shows statistical tie with Steve Bovo, Alex Penelas . October 23, 2020 . July 28, 2020 . Ryan . Nicol . Florida Politics.
21. Web site: Daniella Levine Cava comes up tops in mayoral poll . Florida Politics . August 6, 2020 . October 23, 2020 . Spencer . Fordin.
22. Web site: Daniella Levine Cava's internal poll shows her leading tight contest in next week's mayoral election. August 11, 2020 . Ryan . Nicol . Florida Politics . October 23, 2020 .
23. Web site: Poll shows Alex Penelas set to advance to November runoff . Florida Politics . October 23, 2020 . Ryan . Nicol . August 10, 2020.
24. 1294390915646226432 . PhilPrazan . NEW: A neutral poll on the #MiamiDade Mayor race puts in public what many politicos say in private. This race is up for grabs. @SteveBovo - 21 @votedaniella - 18 @penelasformayor - 18 @XavierLSuarez1 - 8.5 Undecided - 25.5 #FlaPol #elections #Elections2020 @nbc6 . Phil Prazan . 2020-08-15.
25. Web site: Daniella Levine Cava internal poll gives her 11-point lead in runoff versus Steve Bovo. Ryan. Nicol. August 19, 2020.
26. Web site: Daniella Levine Cava announces COVID-19 recovery plan as poll shows her leading Miami-Dade mayoral race. Ryan. Nicol. September 9, 2020.
27. Web site: Daniella Levine Cava poll shows her leading Steve Bovo by 13 points in Miami-Dade mayoral race. Ryan. Nicol. September 22, 2020.
28. News: Hanks . Douglas . 2020-10-06 . In Miami-Dade mayoral race, COVID is the top worry and a Democrat is ahead, poll says. . .
29. Web site: Poll shows Daniella Levine Cava with comfortable lead in Miami-Dade County mayoral race. Ryan. Nicol. October 26, 2020.