Miami Mayor-elect Eileen Higgins credits her historic win this week to a confluence of factors, from various affordability issues to City Hall dysfunction.

She also believes President Donald Trump inadvertently gave her a boost.

In an appearance on “Morning Joe” two days after winning the Miami Mayor’s race by nearly 20 points over a Trump-endorsed opponent, Higgins said fear of the President’s hard-line anti-immigration policies “influenced a lot of people’s vote.”

“There’s this politics of trickle-down hatred, where our immigrant population is not only insulted but also really afraid of the federal government,” she said, using a play on the Reagan-era “trickle-down economics” phrase.

Higgins said she has heard worries from residents across the city that they, their relatives or friends will be swept up in raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which received a massive budget increase this year to ramp up detainment and deportation efforts.

“People are afraid,” she said. “I’ve never experienced that in any of my elections before. People want government to work for them. They were never afraid of government, and that’s changed.”

Higgins, a former Miami-Dade Commissioner, said that she and most Americans want a secure border, to know who is entering and exiting the country, and to block criminals from crossing into the country.

That was the policy Trump and his supporters in government sold to the people, she said, but it’s not what the administration has delivered. And with a huge immigrant population across South Florida — the most populous part of a state with an estimated 400,000 holders of temporary protected status at risk — it’s going to severely impact local and state budgets, she said.

“Are we really going to deport 300,000 people and ruin the economy of South Florida? To me, this anti-immigrant fervor, it’s gone too far. It’s inhumane. It’s cruel. I’m Catholic, so I think it’s a sin. And it’s bad for the economy,” she said. “They’re going after everybody, rich and poor, and it’s really changing how people think about who they want to speak up for and stick up for them in local government.”

Higgins made clear that she believed the two primary drivers in the city’s election this year were the increasingly unaffordable cost of housing and Miami’s “long history of corruption” — a reference, perhaps, to the legal travails of outgoing Commissioner Joe Carollo, numerous police scandals or inquiries into alleged malfeasance by outgoing Mayor Francis Suarez, ex-Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla and former City Attorney Victoria Méndez that, to date, have resulted in no official findings of wrongdoing.

As she did on the campaign trail, Higgins touted her work toward “building thousands of units of affordable housing.” She said housing affordability — inclusive of home prices, rent and property insurance — was her “top issue” leading up to Election Day.

But businesses are feeling the crunch too, she added.

“Our housing affordability crisis has existed for some time,” she said.

“You also have what’s going on with this tariff issue, which is raising prices at the grocery store, at the drug store and for small businesses. We forget about that. You can go into a hair salon (where) the price of extensions (has) gone up by $20. And do they cut their profits or do they charge their customers in Little Havana $20 more? Neither of those people can afford that. So, affordability is all over the map.”

Eileen Higgins defeated former City Manager Emilio González Tuesday to become Miami’s first woman Mayor and the first registered Democrat to win the job in nearly 30 years. She won with 59.5% of the vote.

Last year, Vice President Kamala Harris won Miami by less than a percentage point. Three years earlier, Suarez, a Republican, won re-election with 79% of the vote.

Every Republican member of legislative delegations for Orange and Osceola counties is endorsing Erin Huntley for House District 45.

The nods come from state Reps. Doug Bankson, Erika Booth, Susan Plasencia and Paula Stark.

Huntley, Chair of the Orange GOP, faces Lee Steinhauer in the Republican Primary.

The endorsements further cement Huntley as the clear front-runner in the race to flip HD 45, which is currently held by Democrat Leonard Spencer. Spencer unseated then-Republican state Rep. Carolina Amesty last year in the only race in Florida where a Democrat unseated a Republican incumbent.

The latest round of backers come after Attorney General James Uthmeier also offered his endorsement. Huntley also has support from U.S. Rep. Dan Webster. While he hasn’t officially endorsed her, she also can tout some support from Gov. Ron DeSantis, who appointed her earlier this year to serve on the Florida Virtual School (FLVS) Board of Trustees.

“I’ve had the privilege of personally knowing Erin Huntley for quite some time. She is a principled leader with integrity, vision, and a deep dedication to the needs of Floridians. I fully support her campaign for the Florida House of Representatives,” Booth said.

Added Plasencia: “Erin Huntley is a strong, conservative leader who understands the challenges facing Florida families and businesses. She will bring common-sense solutions to Tallahassee, fight for our values, and always stand up for her community. I am proud to support Erin in her campaign for Florida House District 45 and encourage fellow conservatives to do the same!”

Bankson offered similar praise, touting Huntley for her “integrity, determination, and conservative vision.”

“She will work tirelessly to defend our freedoms, support small businesses, and ensure a brighter future for our state. I have no doubt that Erin will be a strong leader for the people of District 45, and I am proud to fully endorse her campaign,” Bankson said.

And Stark emphasized Huntley’s commitment to families, small businesses and conservative values.

“Erin Huntley is a bold and compassionate leader who understands the heartbeat of our community. Erin’s commitment to standing up for parents, protecting small businesses, and ensuring our conservative values are upheld is exactly what District 45 needs. I’m proud to endorse Erin Huntley and trust that she will be a powerful voice for our families in Tallahassee,” she said.

Huntley is also the current Orange County Republican Party Chair and serves as Chair of Chairs for the Republican Party of Florida. She is also a member of the Florida Association of Distributive Education Clubs of America Board of Advisors.

She’s raised nearly $135,000 to her official campaign, as of Sept. 30, as well as more than $79,000 to her affiliated political committee, Conservative Solutions for Florida.

Huntley touts herself as a staunch Trump ally, serving as an alternate delegate for the President and as one of just 30 Floridians representing him in the electoral college, according to her campaign website.