Poll shows Miami-Dade supermajority support re-electing Daniella Levine Cava, $2.5B bond proposal

Daniella Levine Cava has served Miami-Dade in public and nonprofit capacities for decades. Image via Daniella Levine Cava.

New polling shows 2 of every 3 Miami-Dade voters want Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to serve another four years, and even more support a proposed $2.5 billion borrowing plan to increase the county’s affordable housing inventory.

Sixty-three percent said they’d vote for Levine Cava if the election were today, while another 3% said they were more inclined to vote for her than her three challengers.

Meanwhile, 16% said they would vote for or are leaning toward voting for Republican Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid, and 15% said the same for conservative Youtuber Alex Otaola.

Two percent said they were undecided. The poll did not include consideration for trapeze artist Miguel “el Skipper” Quintero, the first person to launch a challenge against the incumbent Mayor.

Oakland-based consulting firm EMC Research surveyed 500 likely Miami-Dade voters, with an oversample of 100 independent voters, by email and text from Nov. 13-16. The poll had a 4-percentage-point margin of error.

Pollsters found Levine Cava enjoys 84% name recognition and 54% favorability, compared to 30% who view her unfavorably. She’s held in particularly high regard among fellow Democrats (87%), older women (81%), Black voters (80%), voters in the county’s coastal and northeastern regions (76%) and moderates (75%).

During her State of the County speech Wednesday night, Levine Cava unveiled plans to ask voters this November to approve a $2.5B borrowing plan, “305 Future Ready,” for affordable housing, parks enhancement, resiliency, land conservation and infrastructure upgrades.

EMC Research asked voters ahead of the Mayor’s announcement about the referendum-based bond plan, which the county would square through an existing property tax already designated for county debt repayment.

Forty-eight percent said they strongly approved of the plan, while another 31% said they were partially for it. Nine percent said they strongly opposed the plan, and 11% expressed disinclination toward it.

Pollsters noted overwhelming support among Democrats (91%), moderate voters (86%), women (82%), non-Cuban Hispanics (82%) and independents (81%).

Close to two-thirds of Republicans also approved.

That makes sense considering the importance voters placed on problems the bond plan is meant to address. Nine out of 10 respondents said improving housing affordability and accessibility is the most important issue for them, followed by 82% who placed environmental and climate issues first.

Investing in public transit, such as Metrorail, also ranked high, with 83% of respondents saying it is very important or somewhat important to them.

The race for Mayor is technically nonpartisan, meaning that a candidate will win outright if they secure more than 50% of the vote during the Aug. 20 Primary Election.

If no candidate does so, the two with the most Primary votes will compete in a runoff culminating in the General Election on Nov. 5.