2004 Miami-Dade County mayoral election

2004 Miami-Dade County mayoral election

←  2000 August 31, 2004 November 2, 2004 2008  →

Candidate Carlos Álvarez Jimmy Morales First round 79,902 27.55% 58,388 20.13% Runoff 396,798 55.20% 322,032 44.80%   Candidate Maurice Ferré Miguel Díaz de la Portilla First round 51,384 17.72% 36,725 13.79% Runoff Eliminated Eliminated

Mayor before election Alex Penelas Nonpartisan Elected mayor Carlos Álvarez Nonpartisan

The 2004 Miami-Dade County mayoral election took place on November 2, 2004, following a primary election on August 31, 2004. Incumbent Mayor Alex Penelas was term-limited and could not run for a third consecutive term, instead opting to unsuccessfully run for Senate. Nine candidates ran to succeed Penelas. Carlos Álvarez, the Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, placed first in the primary, winning 28 percent of the vote. County Commissioner Jimmy Morales defeated former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferré for second place, 20–18 percent, and advanced to the runoff election against Álvarez. Álvarez defeated Morales by a wide margin, winning 55–45 percent.

Primary election

Candidates

• Carlos Álvarez, Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department ^[1]
• Jimmy Morales, County Commissioner ^[2]
• Maurice Ferré, former County Commissioner, former Mayor of Miami, 2001 candidate for Mayor of Miami, 1996 candidate for Mayor of Dade County ^[3]
• Miguel Díaz de la Portilla, former County Commissioner, 2000 candidate for Mayor ^[4]
• Jose Cancela, media executive ^[5]
• Jay Love, businessman, 2000 candidate for Mayor ^[6]
• Dave Slater, former WPLG traffic reporter, 2000 candidate for Mayor ^[6]
• Deliverance Charles Blue, minister ^[7]

Results

2004 Miami-Dade County mayoral primary election ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Carlos Álvarez	79,902	27.55%
	Nonpartisan	Jimmy Morales	58,388	20.13%
	Nonpartisan	Maurice Ferré	51,384	17.72%
	Nonpartisan	Miguel Díaz de la Portilla	44,319	15.28%
	Nonpartisan	Jose Cancela	34,740	11.98%
	Nonpartisan	Jay Love	12,752	4.40%
	Nonpartisan	Dave Slater	5,155	1.78%
	Nonpartisan	Deliverance Charles Blue	3,367	1.16%
Total votes			290,007	100.00%

Runoff election

Results

2000 Miami-Dade County mayoral runoff election ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Carlos Álvarez	396,798	55.20%
	Nonpartisan	Jimmy Morales	322,032	44.80%
Total votes			718,830	100.00%

References

1. Ross, Karl (July 29, 2003). "Police director throws hat in ring for mayor". Miami Herald . Miami, Florida. p. 3B. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
2. Ross, Karl (September 8, 2003). "Morales kicks off campaign at his old school". Miami Herald . Miami, Florida. p. 3B. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
3. Corral, Oscar (June 4, 2004). "Ferré enters the race for mayor". Miami Herald . Miami, Florida. p. 3B. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
4. Savage, Charles (July 12, 2003). "Diaz de la Portilla joins Dade mayor race". Miami Herald . Miami, Florida. p. 3B. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
5. Ross, Karl (August 28, 2003). "Executive enters race for Dade mayor". Miami Herald . Miami, Florida. p. 3B. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
6. Corral, Oscar (July 14, 2004). "Nine men qualify to run in mayoral race". Miami Herald . Miami, Florida. p. 11B. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
7. Pain, John (August 22, 2004). "9 candidates vie for Miami-Dade mayor". Naples Daily News . Naples, Florida. p. 11D. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
8. "OFFICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION - MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA - AUGUST 31, 2004 - STATISTICS" (PDF). Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections. September 7, 2004. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
9. "OFFICIAL GENERAL ELECTION - MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 2, 2004 - STATISTICS" (PDF). Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections. 2004. Retrieved July 6, 2025.