Bovo, Levine Cava advance to runoff for Miami-Dade County mayor

Esteban “Steve” Bovo and Daniella Levine Cava will face each other in a runoff for Miami-Dade County mayor in November.

Alex Penelas, who trailed behind the two frontrunners, conceded the race.

“Although I am very disappointed that our campaign ends tonight and we will not move forward into the runoff, I am grateful for how we helped shape the debate of the Mayor’s race by drawing attention to our biggest challenges and proposing ideas on how to address them in a meaningful way. Those ideas have taken on a life of their own,” Penelas said in a statement.

“. . . I entered this race because I was frustrated with the direction of Miami-Dade County and felt that I could make a difference. Tonight I have come to understand that you can still make a difference even if you don’t win.”

Levine Cava would be the first woman to lead Miami-Dade. “I’m not saying it takes a woman to do the job,” Cava said. “I’m just saying the men haven’t done it.”

Levine Cava is also the most progressive in a primary where Democrats have amped registrations and voter turnout.

Bovo, the only Republican among the frontrunners, takes the conservative end of the spectrum. Though the race for Miami-Dade County mayor is non partisan, Bovo has been campaigning as if it were.

"There's only one going to be one candidate that's going to talk about conservative values about minding our budget, making sure we don't raise taxes and don't misspend money and that's me," Bovo said.

Former Miami mayor Xavier Suarez started strong then lagged in both money and polling despite solid credentials.

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