Robaina, Gimenez Head for Runoff in Miami-Dade Mayoral Race

Julio Robaina and Carlos Gimenez led the 11-way race for Miami-Dade mayor wire to wire Tuesday night.

Robaina, the Hialeah mayor who was endorsed by the Latin Builders Association, finished with 33.7 percent of the vote with all 829 precincts counted. County Commissioner Gimenez garnered 28.8 percent.

They will advance to a runoff June 28.

The only other mayoral hopefuls in double figures were former state Rep. Marcelo Llorente (14.8 percent) and ex-rapper Luther Campbell (11.07 percent).

Tuesday's special election also featured a handful of other races and a series of charter-reform amendments.

Norman Braman, the South Florida auto magnate who led the recall campaign that ousted Carlos Alvarez from the mayor's post, did not endorse in the mayoral contest and urged voters to reject all six charter amendments, which he accused commissioners of adulterating for political advantage.

Only one amendment -- restricting lobbying by elected officials -- appeared to pass, barely, by just 169 votes of 169,955 cast. But with some 3,000 to 4,000 absentee ballots still to be counted, that measure could go down, too.

Esteban Bovo, who was endorsed by Braman, easily won County Commission seat 13.

Jose Oliva edged Frank Lago in state House district 110 to succeed Bovo.

Thanks to Miami-Dade's strong Cuban vote, all the leading candidates Tuesday night were Republicans. That ended the Democrats' modest string of victories in the Tampa and Jacksonville mayoral elections this year.