Miami-Dade voters delivered a stunning rebuke Tuesday night, unseating Circuit Judge Mavel Ruiz after she temporarily blocked the transfer of prime downtown Miami property designated for President Donald Trump’s future presidential library.
Conservative attorney Destiny Alvarez, just 30 years old, defeated the longtime incumbent in the nonpartisan race for the 11th Judicial Circuit’s Group 67 seat.
With all 767 precincts reporting, Alvarez received 113,215 votes, or 50.46%, while Ruiz finished with 111,142 votes, or 49.54%.
Alvarez defeated Ruiz by 2,073 votes and crossed the 50% threshold needed to avoid a November runoff, according to Florida’s official election-night reporting system.
In other words, Ruiz is finished.
The contest became one of Florida’s most politically explosive judicial races after Ruiz inserted herself into the fight over President Trump’s planned presidential library.
In October 2025, Ruiz issued a temporary injunction blocking Miami Dade College from transferring a 2.63-acre parcel beside the historic Freedom Tower for the library project.