Miami Board of Commissioners District 4 special election (2025)

	← 2023
2025 Miami elections
Election dates
	Filing deadline: April 25, 2025 (special) & September 20, 2025
	General election: June 3, 2025 (special) & November 4, 2025; Runoff election: November 18, 2025
Election stats
	Offices up: Mayor and city commission and city commission (special)
	Total seats up: 4 (click here for mayoral elections);
Other municipal elections
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Florida 2025 elections

Congressional special elections • Special state legislative • Municipal • All local elections by county • How to run for office

Ralph Rosado defeated Jose Regalado in a nonpartisan special election for District 4 of the Miami City Commission on June 3, 2025. Former incumbent Manolo Reyes died on April 11.^[1] Rosado will complete the remainder of Reyes' term, which will expire in 2027.^[2]

Regalado was the assistant building director for the city of Miami, a former policy advisor to Reyes, and the son of former mayor Tomás Regalado.^[3] Regalado said he was running to continue Reyes' legacy "offering steady leadership rooted in action, accountability, and a lifelong commitment to District 4."^[4] Regalado also focused on his record working for Reyes, and his website said: "As Chief Policy Adviser to the late Commissioner Manolo Reyes... he worked closely with residents to solve real issues, from safer streets to better services for seniors."^[4]

Rosado was an urban planner who worked for North Bay Village, Florida. He was a candidate for this seat in 2017, receiving 36% of the vote to Reyes' 57%.^[5] Rosado campaigned on his experience working for the city of North Bay Village, and said, "It would be the honor of a lifetime to serve with [other city commissioners] and represent a community that I love so much. I’m ready to hit the ground running."^[6] He also campaigned on taxes, and said he wants to "keep taxes low to help residents continue to afford the homes they live in."^[7]

Endorsements played a role in this race. Reyes' widow, Selva Reyes, endorsed Regalado. Regalado said of the endorsement: "She said, ‘You’re the only person who can fill his shoes.' It felt like the right thing to do."^[3] Reyes also recorded a radio endorsement for Regalado.^[8] The Young Republicans of Miami also backed his candidacy.^[9]

The AFSCME Local 1907, which represented municipal workers, and the Miami Fraternal Order of Police both backed Rosado.^[10]^[11] Rosado also received support from a PAC run by Commissioner Joe Carollo, who had reportedly considered running for mayor.^[12]^[13]

The Proven Leadership political committee, which previously worked for Regalado's father, released ads that criticized Rosado as being too close to Carollo, who the ads said misused power and cost the city money in a federal lawsuit.^[14]^[15] Rosado said he did not solicit an endorsement from Carollo.^[13] Rosado said Regalado was relying on his family's connections to the district and said, "We will continue to build momentum through truth, transparency, and a record of real public service, not through the use of a family’s last name."^[16]

As of May 2, Regalado raised $67,470 and spent $13,763, and Rosado raised $26,454 and spent $4,600.^[17]

Candidates and election results

General election

Special general election for Miami Board of Commissioners District 4

Ralph Rosado defeated Jose Regalado in the special general election for Miami Board of Commissioners District 4 on June 3, 2025.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Ralph Rosado (Nonpartisan)	55.1	2,939
	Jose Regalado (Nonpartisan)	44.9	2,391

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,330
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Antonio J. Diaz (Nonpartisan)

Comparison to previous election

The total turnout in 2025 was 122.5% of the turnout in the 2023 election. In the nonpartisan election, the number of votes for the winning candidates was 78.5% of the number received in 2023. The number of votes for the defeated candidate was 391.9% of the number received in 2023. The margin of victory (MOV) in the special election was 547 votes, which was closer than the 2023 MOV (3,129).

The following chart compares the results and total votes between the November 7, 2023, regular election for this seat, and the 2025 special election.

Voting information

According to Miami-Dade County, the deadline to register to vote is May 5, and the deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot is May 22. Early voting runs from May 30 to June 1st. For more information, click here.

Candidate comparison

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Jose Regalado

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Biography: Regalado received a bachelor's degree in international relations from Florida International University in 2015. He worked as a chief policy advisor in District 4, chief of staff to the deputy mayor, as city manager, and as assistant director of Miami's Building Department.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Regalado said he was running to continue Reyes' legacy, "offering steady leadership rooted in action, accountability, and a lifelong commitment to District 4."

Regalado campaigned on his history with Reyes, and his website said: "As Chief Policy Adviser to the late Commissioner Manolo Reyes... he worked closely with residents to solve real issues, from safer streets to better services for seniors."

Regalado campaigned on public safety, and his website said he "led Miami’s first task force protecting seniors in assisted living during emergencies, secured lower flood insurance rates for residents, and was deployed for disaster recovery in Lee County after Hurricane Milton."

Show sources

Sources: Political Cortadito, "Jose Regalado resigns city job to run for Miami commissioner in District 4," April 22, 2025; Jose Regalado 2025 campaign website, "Meet Jose Francisco Regalado," accessed May 15, 2025; Miami Today, "Two-way race will fill vacant Miami commission seat," April 30, 2025

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Miami Board of Commissioners District 4 in 2025.

Ralph Rosado

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Biography: Rosado received a bachelor's degree in English from Florida International University, a master's degree in public affairs and urban and regional planning from Princeton University, and a doctorate in city planning from the University of Pennsylvania. He previously worked as manager for the city of North Bay Village, Florida, and as president of an urban design consulting firm.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Rosado campaigned on his experience working with the city of North Bay Village, and said "It would be the honor of a lifetime to serve with [other city commissioners] and represent a community that I love so much. I’m ready to hit the ground running."

Rosado campaigned on taxes, and his website said he wanted to "keep taxes low to help residents continue to afford the homes they live in."

Rosado supported building more parks and his website said he wanted to focus "on parks, green spaces, and areas to build community and grow families."

Show sources

Sources: Political Cortadito, "Miami voters to fill Manolo Reyes’ District 4 seat with June special election," April 17, 2025; Ralph Rosado 2025 campaign website, "Priorities," May 15, 2025; FIU, "Ralph Rosado," accessed May 16, 2025; Miami Today, "Two-way race will fill vacant Miami commission seat," April 30, 2025

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Miami Board of Commissioners District 4 in 2025.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

Endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

Ballotpedia researchers did not identify any candidate websites that provide endorsement information. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.

Campaign finance

Campaign finance can be found here.

Election history

2023

District 1

General runoff election

General runoff election for Miami Board of Commissioners District 1

Miguel Angel Gabela defeated Alex Díaz de la Portilla in the general runoff election for Miami Board of Commissioners District 1 on November 21, 2023.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Miguel Angel Gabela (Nonpartisan)	54.3	1,751
	Alex Díaz de la Portilla (Nonpartisan)	45.7	1,474

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,225
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.