Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez Wins Re-Election Bid
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Election results are in and Carlos Gimenez has won the race for Miami-Dade mayor.
At a victory speech Tuesday night, Gimenez thanked the community, his supporters and his family.
He then spoke about his number one reason for running for mayor.
"It's about our children, it's about our grandchildren. It's about leaving them a better tomorrow, it's about leaving them a better quality of life," he said.
He capped his speech by focusing on what's to come.
"Our message is one of the future. Our message is we are creating one of the great cities in the world right now, right before your eyes," he said. "We have to make sure to have an eye for the future. We have to make sure that we can diversify our economy. We have to make sure all segments of our community, all Miamians, can participate in economic wellbeing, growth. And that will be the focus of my next four years."
This was a run-off election race after Gimenez failed to receive 50-percent of the vote in the August primary. He received just 48-percent compared to her 32-percent.
Mayor Gimenez spent more than $4 million in the most expensive mayoral race in Miami-Dade history. A father and grandfather, Gimenez is a former firefighter, fire chief, city manager and county commissioner.
Raquel Regalado is a former school board member and daughter of the City of Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado. A six-year veteran of the school board, Regalado is a lawyer by profession.
Related: Judge Denies Regalado's Request To Toss Gimenez From Mayoral Race
During the bitter campaign, Regalado tried but failed to remove Gimenez from the race when she filed a lawsuit claiming Gimenez violated a Florida statute during the qualifying period. The lawsuit was dismissed.
For more on Campaign 2016, click here.