Hector Mujica enters CD 28 race, setting up potentially competitive challenge to Carlos Giménez

Democrat Hector Mujica, a former Google executive previously running for U.S. Senate, is entering the race for Florida’s 28th Congressional District in what could become one of the most competitive South Florida contests this cycle.

Mujica announced Thursday that he is pivoting from his statewide Senate bid to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Carlos Giménez.

He framed the move as a strategic shift toward a district where economic pressures and voter dissatisfaction with Washington could create an opening for a Democratic upset.

“I’m running for Congress because families here are doing everything right, and still falling behind,” Mujica said in a campaign launch video, emphasizing rising costs and housing affordability as central concerns.

“That’s not how this country is supposed to work. For too long, this district has had the same kind of leadership, focused on political theater in Washington while families here face rising costs, housing pressures, and an economy that no longer works the way it used to.”

Mujica’s entry follows newly released polling that suggests CD 28, which spans part of Miami-Dade County and all of Monroe County, may be more competitive than in past cycles.

A survey conducted in early March found Giménez leading Mujica by just 6 percentage points, 46% to 40%, with 14% undecided.

Notably, Mujica held a 5-point advantage among independent and no-party-affiliated voters — a critical bloc in the district — and trailed by only 4 points on a generic ballot test, within the poll’s 4.3-point margin of error.

At least one of the consulting firms that conducted the polling, EDGE Communications, has joined Mujica’s campaign.

Pollsters characterized the race as increasingly volatile, citing voter frustration with the cost of living, immigration policies and foreign policy decisions under President Donald Trump, whose approval ratings have sagged nationally.

They argued those dynamics could weigh on Republican incumbents like Giménez and create an opening for a challenger focused on affordability and government accountability.

Mujica is seeking to position himself as that alternative, leaning heavily on his private-sector and public service background rather than traditional political experience.

A Venezuelan American raised in South Florida, he is a first-generation immigrant whose parents came to the U.S. in search of economic opportunity. He said his father, a pastor, instilled in him a focus on service and community that he frequently highlights on the campaign trail.

Mujica spent more than a decade at Google, most recently as Head of Americas Philanthropy, where he oversaw initiatives that directed nearly $1 billion toward workforce training, small-business development and disaster response efforts across the region.

His work included expanding tech apprenticeships, supporting veterans’ reentry into the workforce and helping communities recover from crises.

Before his time in the tech sector, Mujica served as a fellow in the U.S. State Department’s economic section and held leadership roles with national Latino and philanthropic organizations, including the Hispanic Federation and the Aspen Institute’s Latinos & Society Program.

He launched a bid for the U.S. Senate earlier this cycle, building a statewide network and campaign infrastructure that he now aims to deploy in CD 28. His congressional campaign is expected to lean on that groundwork, particularly in outreach to Latino voters and independents.

Mujica is casting himself as a “pragmatic Democrat” focused on economic growth, technological change and lowering costs for families, while drawing contrasts with what he describes as entrenched, partisan leadership in Washington.

“This race is a choice,” he said. “We can keep sending the same politicians to Washington while Miami grows more expensive, more corrupt, and harder to live in — or we can choose new leadership that understands firsthand what families in South Florida face and how hard it has become to build a stable life in today’s economy.”

Mujica doesn’t have an unobstructed path to the Democratic nomination and a General Election showdown with Giménez, a former Miami-Dade Mayor who has served in Congress since 2021. He’ll face at least one Primary opponent in Phil Ehr, a retired U.S. Navy pilot who unsuccessfully challenged Giménez in 2024.