Tomas Regalado Leading Miami Mayoral Race

Tomas Regalado was leading the Miami mayoral race and Philip Levine was ahead in Miami Beach with all precincts reporting early Wednesday.

With all 128 precincts reporting in Miami, Regalado had about 78 percent of the vote as he sought a second term as the city's mayor.

Challenger Jeff Benjamin had just under 10 percent of the vote, followed by candidates William A. Armbrister, with just above 8 percent, and Tom Baumann, with just above 4 percent.

With all 18 precincts reporting in Miami, City Commissioner Frank Carollo retained his seat. He received just over 78 percent of the vote to just under 22 percent for challenger Alex Dominguez.

With all 36 precincts reporting in Miami Beach, Philip Levine had received 50.48 percent of the vote. He needs to get more than 50.5 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff, the Miami Herald reported.

"This is a victory for the people of Miami Beach," Levine said to cheers from his supporters. "This is a victory for the city of Miami Beach. And what this is, this shows that when you believe in something and everybody can come together, there is no telling what you can do, and that's what we proved tonight."

Levine is a Miami Beach businessman and investor who currently serves as CEO of Royal Media Partners, an exclusive partner of Royal Caribbean Cruises.

Commissioner Michael Gongora had 36.43 percent of the vote, Steve Berke had 12.13 percent in his second bid for mayor and Raphael Herman had 0.96 percent.

Voter turnout was reported at just over 11 percent county-wide.

Jackson Health System leaders celebrated their apparent victory as Miami-Dade voters supported an $830 million bond for Jackson Health System to update facilities and equipment. With all 829 precincts reporting, about 65 percent of voters had supported the measure, and about 35 percent had voted against it.

Jackson CEO Carlos Migoya said the vote helps secure Jackson's future. It also marks a complete turnaround for the hospital system that was on the brink of bankruptcy in 2011, the Herald reported.

In Hialeah, Mayor Carlos Hernandez was running for a new term against former mayor Julio J. Martinez and Juan Santana, an activist and lifelong resident of Hialeah. With all 52 precincts reporting, Hernandez had just above 81 percent of the vote to just under 16 percent for Martinez and about 3 percent for Santana.

A straw vote was held in Miami Beach regarding medical marijuana. With all 36 precincts reporting, just above 64 percent of voters had said that the City Commission should adopt a resolution urging the federal and state governments to decriminalize and authorize the medicinal use of marijuana, while just under 36 percent had cast ballots against the move.

Berke, whose mayoral campaign was being filmed by MTV, wants to legalize small amounts of marijuana. Earlier, the former comedian had urged voters to come out to support him in the mayor's race.

"You are going to help pull off the biggest upset in Miami Beach history," he said.

Herman has said he's advised Presidents Kennedy, Reagan and Clinton, worked for the Mossad and the CIA, and that he's the guy that found Osama bin Laden.

In Miami's District 5 City Commission race, with all 36 precincts reporting, Keon Hardemon appeared headed for a Nov. 19 runoff after receiving 45.82 percent of the vote. Richard P. Dunn II, with 22.21 percent, and Jacqui Colyer, with 21.53 percent, were in a close contest for the second spot in the runoff. Robert Malone Jr. was fourth with 10.44 percent of the vote.

Twelve candidates were vying for eight spots on the Coconut Grove Village Council. With all 11 precincts reporting, Kate Callahan, Linda Williams, Ruth Ewing, Tricia Sullivan, Emily Brittingham, Seth Sklarey, Thaddeus Scott and Javier Gonzalez held those spots.

Voters in Coconut Grove also appeared set to approve a plan to overhaul part of the village’s waterfront despite some opposition from some residents, the Herald reported. With all 128 precincts reporting, just over 61 percent of voters had approved the plan, while just under 39 percent of voters had cast ballots against it.

Mark Bell and Jeff Porter were going head to head in the Homestead mayor's race. With all 16 precincts reporting, Porter had just over 55 percent of the vote and Bell had just under 45 percent.

In the race for Homestead vice mayor, with all 16 precincts reporting, Stephen Shelley had just under 50 percent of the vote, while Jimmie L. Williams III had just under 26 percent and Norman L. Hodge Jr. just under 25 percent.

In the race for Homestead’s council seat 4, with all 16 precincts reporting, Williams had 52.5 percent of the vote and Hodge had 47.5 percent.

In Hialeah, all 52 precincts’ votes had been tabulated for the council races.

In group V, Luis Gonzalez had just above 75 percent of the vote to just under 25 percent for Julio Rodriguez. And in group VI, Paul “Pablito” Hernandez had just above 76 percent to just under 24 percent for Marcos Miralles.

Miami-Dade Elections Department officials had said they expected turnout of between 15-20 percent Tuesday.

About 100,000 ballots were cast during early voting, which ended Nov. 3.

For more information about voting and precincts visit the Miami-Dade Elections website.

More NBC6.com Stories:

Contact Us