With Miami-Dade voters beginning early voting Monday, Miami Mayor Eileen Higgins is throwing her political weight behind state Rep. Ashley Gantt in the open Senate District 34 race. The endorsement lands just over two weeks before the Aug. 18 Democratic primary, adding another marquee name to Gantt’s already sizable South Florida coalition.
Higgins announced the endorsement last Thursday, and The Miami Times reported that she cast Gantt as “exactly the kind of leader” Miami needs in Tallahassee. Higgins pointed to affordability, public education, public safety and more effective government as the issues she believes Gantt is prepared to tackle.
Gantt, 41, is a lawyer, former public school teacher and two-term state representative who launched her Senate bid in late May, according to Florida Politics. The outlet previously reported that the entire Senate Democratic Caucus had endorsed her, adding to support from Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and other South Florida officials and organizations.
A District Spanning Miami Beach To Miami Gardens
District 34 is a broad northeast Miami-Dade seat stretching from Miami Gardens to the Miami Beach area and including communities such as North Miami, North Miami Beach, Opa-locka and Bay Harbor Islands, according to the Miami-Dade Democratic Party’s voter guide. That footprint gives the contest a built-in mix of urban, coastal and working-family concerns, from housing costs and public education to transportation and climate resilience.
The seat is currently held by Democratic state Sen. Shevrin Jones, who is running for Congress rather than seeking another Senate term. That makes the contest an open-seat fight at a moment when local Democratic leaders are lining up quickly behind their preferred successor.
Early Voting Begins As Democratic Field Takes Shape
The official county ballot lists Gantt, Shannan Ighodaro and Christine Sanon-Jules Olivo in the Democratic primary for state Senate District 34, while early voting runs through Aug. 16, according to the official ballot and Miami-Dade County. Election Day is Aug. 18, and the general election is scheduled for Nov. 3.
For Gantt, Higgins’ backing arrives as the campaign tries to turn a House record into a Senate pitch: she won House District 109 by fewer than 500 votes in 2022 and then won reelection by 24 percentage points in 2024, The Miami Times reported. Gantt said she was “incredibly honored” by the endorsement and credited Higgins with showing what effective leadership looks like — a tidy campaign message, but one now attached to a race voters can begin deciding today.
