Eileen Higgins nabs endorsement from pro-LGBTQ SAVE Action PAC

Eileen Higgins sponsored the plastics-limiting measure, which the Miami-Dade Commission approved with supermajority support. Image via Miami-Dade County.

Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins’ re-election bid now has the backing of the electoral arm of SAVE, a locally based nonprofit dedicated to advocating for LGBTQ protections and equality.

SAVE Action PAC announced its support of Higgins, the most senior of seven Democrats now serving on the County Commission.

She is seeking a second and final four-year term.

Orlando Gonzales, Executive Director of SAVE, said LGBTQ people in Miami-Dade have faced “repeated attacks from Tallahassee, and beyond,” referencing among other things the state’s expanded law restricting LGBTQ inclusion in public schools, a so-called “anti-drag show” measure Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in May and legislation restricting adult transgender care.

“Eileen Higgins has been unwavering in her defense of our community at this important juncture,” Gonzales said in a statement. “She has repeatedly stood for core American values like freedom and equality even as some attempt to take those away from LGBTQ people. That’s why she is the public servant we need protecting our rights on the Miami-Dade County Commission.”

Since winning her District 5 seat in a 2018 Special Election, Higgins has reinforced her vocal support of the LGBTQ community with several measures passed at County Hall. That includes her sponsorship of an item establishing the Miami-Dade LGBTQ Advisory Board in October 2019, an April 2022 resolution recognizing October as LGBTQ History Month and a measure this year declaring March 31 as a countywide “Transgender Day of Visibility.”

Higgins said she is “deeply honored” to receive SAVE Action PAC’s endorsement and vowed to “continue to be a visible and staunch defender of this beautiful community that is under continued attack, all to score senseless political points.”

So far, she’s running unopposed.

The Miami-Dade Commission is technically nonpartisan, as are its elections. If no winner scores more than 50% of the vote during the Aug. 20 Primary, the two candidates with the most votes will compete in a General Election runoff Nov. 5.