Miami-Dade voters will elect a new county mayor today to replace Carlos Alvarez, who was recalled in March by about 88 percent of the people who actually voted.
According to the Miami Herald:
As election day begins Tuesday morning to pick a new mayor for Miami-Dade County, voters are showing less interest in choosing a replacement than they did in throwing the previous officeholder out.
The Hearld addsย that signs are already pointing to a race in which turnout will not only be lower than the March recall of Carlos Alvarez, but lower than in the races for county mayor in both 2004 and possibly 2008, which garnered light voter attention because Alvarez was the heavy favorite.
Information from theย Miami Dade County Elections Department shows that more than 35,500 voters took advantage of early voting site while a little over 70,000 absentee ballosts were returned by mail.
The countyโs election department also shows 11 active candidates in the race for the county mayors. Julio Robaina, former mayor of Hialeah raised $1.2 million in campaign contributions, followed by Carlos Gimenez, former Miami-Dade county commissioner who raised a little over $450,000. Marcelo Llorente, a former state Representative, is third with $448,000 and Jose Cancio raised almost $200,000.
Three of the front-runners โ Robaina, Gimenez and Llorente โ are all longtime Republicans. The winner will likely not be decided until after a June 28 runoff.
