Former City Manager Emilio González was already running for Miami Mayor with an endorsement from Gov. Ron DeSantis. Now all three major GOP candidates for Governor in 2026 are getting behind him, too.
The candidates — U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and former House Speaker Paul Renner — have now all endorsed González.
Donalds expressed his support on X, writing, “Emilio, you are the candidate to lead Miami into the future. You have my complete support to be the next Mayor of #Miami!”
Collins and Renner expressed their support earlier this month.
On Nov. 6, two days after González advanced to a runoff against former Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins, Collins congratulated him and wished him victory next month.
“The people of Miami know all too well the consequences of big-government, leftist policies,” he wrote. “Your battle-tested, freedom-fighting leadership is exactly what Miami needs.
Three days prior, Renner threw a nod González’s way.
“Let’s get out the vote for Emilio Gonzalez — the candidate with proven leadership experience, commitment to integrity and accountability, and the vision to move Miami forward,” he wrote on X.
González celebrated the trio of endorsements in a Friday statement.
“With this unified Republican backing, we’re sending a clear message: the residents of Miami deserve common sense leadership that safeguards our families and tax dollars,” he said. “Our best days are still ahead of us.”
González served in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of colonel, and later served under President George W. Bush as Director of Citizenship and Immigration Services at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Between 2013 and 2017, González worked as CEO of Miami International Airport (MIA). Then, from 2017 to 2020, he worked as Miami’s City Manager.
The new endorsements join others from DeSantis, U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and Rick Scott, former Miami Mayor Xavier Suarez, 11 former police officials, former Miami Director of Human Services Milton Vickers, mixed martial arts star Jorge Masvidal and Emmy award-winning reporter Michael Putney, among others.
MIA workers union AFSCME Local 1542, construction trade group Associated Builders and Contractors, Miami Young Republicans and the Log Cabin Republicans of Miami, among others, have also backed him.
González and Higgins, a former Peace Corps Director who served as a foreign service officer under President Barack Obama before winning a County Commission seat in 2018, are competing in a Dec. 9 runoff for Miami Mayor.
Higgins took 36% of the vote while González had 19.5% of ballots cast in his favor to outpace 11 others, including Suarez, who ran for the job.
To avoid a runoff, a candidate had to earn more than half the total vote.
