Backed by developers, Tomas Regalado rode the red wave in Miami-Dade County to win the property appraiser’s race.
Regalado, a Republican who served as Miami mayor from 2009 to 2017, beat Democrat Marisol Zenteno by 15 percentage points in Tuesday’s presidential election. Zenteno, who works as an analyst for the office she was seeking, captured 42 percent of the vote, while Regalado snagged 57 percent. His win mirrored the performance of other Republican candidates who beat their Democratic opponents in races for four other countywide offices.
The GOP contenders rode a red wave generated by former President Donald Trump, who beat Vice President Kamala Harris by 9 percentage points in Miami-Dade, marking the first time a Republican presidential nominee carried the county since 1988. Trump is the winner of the 2024 presidential race after securing 277 electoral college votes.
After initially flirting with a possible run for Miami mayor again in 2025, Regalado decided to run for the property appraiser’s office last year. Nearly three-quarters of the roughly $485,650 Regaldo’s campaign and his Proven Leadership for Miami political action committee raised came from local developers and commercial real estate investors.
The biggest contributors to Regalado’s PAC were Miami-based Melo Group, led by Carlos and Martin Melo, and Julio del Rey, the owner of a chain of motels that rent rooms at hourly and daily rates. The Melos and del Rey each contributed $20,000 to Proven Leadership in February and March, respectively.
An affiliate of Coconut Grove-based Related Group, led by longtime Democratic Party donor Jorge Pérez, donated $10,000 to the PAC, the second largest contribution to Proven Leadership. Craig Robins, who leads Miami-based development firm Dacra, was another prominent Regalado supporter. Robins gave $5,000 to Proven Leadership. Dacra co-owns a majority of commercial properties in the Miami Design District.
Zenteno, who also ran and lost in the 2020 Miami-Dade Property Appraiser race, raised $109,974 from mostly small donors.