Jesse Scheckner
Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins again has the backing of Ruth’s List Florida, an abortion rights group that exclusively supports Democratic women.
It’s the third time the organization has endorsed Higgins, dating back to her successful 2018 Special Election run for the County Commission’s District 5 seat, to which she won re-election in 2020.
She’s now seeking her second — and final, due to term limits — four-year stint on the Commission.
“Commissioner Higgins is a stalwart champion for Democratic values in the community,” Ruth’s List Florida Political Director Cassidy Whitaker said in a statement.
Whitaker cited several of Higgins’ legislative efforts as key to the group’s continued support for her.
“She has worked tirelessly to bridge equity gaps by bringing transportation to underserved neighborhoods, increasing affordable housing, supporting minority-owned businesses, and defending the rights of low-wage workers, seniors and LGBTQ+ residents. An environmental champion, she passed the Miami-Dade County Fertilizer Ordinance, the strongest of its kind in the state of Florida.”
The endorsement comes less than a month after Higgins received a nod from the political arm of pro-LGBTQ group SAVE.
So far, Higgins, a Democrat, is the only candidate running in District 5. The district covers parts of Miami and Miami Beach, including the neighborhoods of Brickell, downtown Miami, Little Havana, Miami River, Mid Beach, The Roads, Shenandoah, Silver Bluff and West Flagler.
She filed to run July 10. Since she won re-election in 2020, Higgins’ political committee, Rebranding Politics, has collected nearly $417,000 in donations.
More than two-thirds of her fundraising in June, the most recent month for which campaign finance activity information is available, came from real estate interests.
The Miami-Dade Commission is a technically nonpartisan body, as are its elections. Accordingly, all candidates will compete against one another in the Aug. 20, 2024, Primary Election, regardless of party affiliation.
If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the two top vote-earners will compete in a runoff culminating in the Nov. 5, 2024, General Election.
