Barley endorses Bovo, Cava gets Democratic reps in mayor race
Miami-Dade mayoral candidate Esteban “Steve” Bovo Jr. on Thursday won the endorsement of former rival Monique Nicole Barley, a first-time candidate who fared better with Black voters in the August primary than the veteran Cuban-American county commissioner did.
“I think that Steve Bovo has the right ideas to take Miami-Dade forward,” said Barley, a Democrat and one of two Black candidates in the non-partisan primary for mayor that
ended with Bovo and fellow commissioner Daniella Levine Cava competing in a November run-off election.
Barley is the first of the four defeated mayoral candidates to endorse after the primary. Commissioner Xavier Suarez issued a list of priorities tied to transportation, COVID and other issues that will form the basis for his endorsement.
Former mayor Alex Penelas said he hasn’t decided whether to endorse, and first-time candidate Ludmilla Domond also has not announced if she will back Bovo or Levine Cava.
The Barley endorsement started a morning that captured the strategies for the two candidates fighting to succeed a term-limited Carlos Gimenez as mayor as he runs to unseat freshman Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in Florida’s 26th Congressional District.
Running as a Republican in an officially non-partisan mayoral race, Bovo wants to highlight his appeal across party and demographic lines in a county where Democrats outnumber Republicans 41% to 27%.
Levine Cava, a
Democrat, spent her first full week in the run-off after the Aug. 18 primary highlighting her role as the Democratic Party’s pick for county mayor.
On Tuesday, Levine Cava announced backing from Florida Agriculture Secretary Nikki Fried, the only Democrat holding statewide office, followed by Thursday’s endorsement of two Democratic members of Congress with districts in Miami-Dade.
LEVINE CAVA ENDORSED BY DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSWOMEN
“She will lead us out of this darkness, to better opportunities for our community,” Rep. Donna Shalala, representing Miami’s 27th Congressional District, said in a video press conference Thursday announcing her Levine Cava endorsement.
She was joined by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, whose 23rd Congressional District includes much of coastal Miami-Dade. Mucarsel-Powell, who endorsed Levine Cava before the primary, was also on the call.
Barley finished a distant fifth in the mayoral primary, with 5% of the vote. That was well behind the 29% won by Bovo and Levine Cava, who finished just behind Bovo in total votes.
While Barley, a law firm manager, won a small portion of the overall votes, she could help Bovo shore up his weak showing with Black voters. One of two Black candidates and the daughter of former state lawmaker Roy Hardemon, Barley finished third behind Levine Cava and Penelas in Miami Gardens, a city where Black voters make up more than 70% of the electorate.
That pattern repeated countywide, with Barley finishing third in the 58 precincts with at least 70% Black voters, according to a Miami Herald analysis of voting data. Bovo finished sixth in those precincts, with about 3% of the vote.
BARLEY OVER-PERFORMED WITH DEMOCRATS
Barley, a Democrat, also beat Bovo in precincts with a large portion of Democratic voters.
There are about 230 precincts where Democrats account for at least 40% of registered voters. Levine Cava won the most votes in them, with 37%, followed by 30% for Penelas, also a Democrat. Barley finished third in those precincts, with 12% of the vote.
Bovo dominated in heavily Republican precincts, taking 52% of the vote. In the heavily Democratic precincts he finished fifth, with about 9% of the vote.
While she easily overperformed her countywide total in Democratic precincts, Barley said she’s planning on leaving the party. “I’m leaning towards Republican,” she said. “Or just no party affiliation.”
Barley said she didn’t meet with Levine Cava about a potential endorsement. “I’m just going to assume their campaign is too busy,” Barley said.
Asked about the endorsement, Levine Cava said: “I had a really good experience on the campaign trail listening and learning from her. I look forward to continuing to hear her ideas.”