Donald Trump picks a favorite in crowded race for Dade sheriff
Former President Donald Trump waded into MiamiDade County’s sheriff race on Wednesday, endorsing Rosanna “Rosie” CorderoStutz in the Republican primary. Trump endorsed Cordero-Stutz, an assistant director for the MiamiDade Police Department, in a post on his Truth Social website, saying she “knows how to Crack Down on Crime” and “Keep Our People Safe.”
The possibility of a Trump endorsement has been a wildcard in theGOP primary for sheriff on
Aug. 20 with 13 candidates. By snagging it, CorderoStutz’s rivals now must seek donors and public backers who are willing to pick a different candidate than Trump’s.
CorderoStutz’s campaign is run by family members of U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a former Miami-Dade mayor who has been a surrogate for Trump since the former president began his 2024 presidential campaign.
The congressman’s son and daughter-in-law (C.J. Gimenez and wife Tania Cruz-Gimenez) are the main consultants for Cordero-Stutz’s campaign. Trump and Cordero-Stutz met at the recent LIV Golf tournament at his Doral resort, setting the groundwork for Wednesday’s public backing.
“They talked for a while,” said Ed Russo, who is Trump’s longtime consultant on golf courses and said he helped arrange the meeting. “They had a serious conversation about law and order.”
The endorsement landed during Trump’s criminal trial in New York over claims that he falsified business records related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to an alleged mistress. Trump lost Miami-Dade by 7 points in 2020, but polling suggests he could win it in a rematch with President Joe Biden in November.
The Trump endorsement hands Cordero-Stutz a significant selling point to GOP voters in a race in which she is trailing other candidates in fundraising.
The Trump endorsement also offers fodder for whoever wins the Democratic primary in a county where Democrats still outnumber Republicans.
While Trump has his candidate, Gov. Ron DeSantis hasn’t gotten involved in the race. Voters approved a change to the Florida Constitution in
2018 mandating independently elected sheriffs in all counties, forcing MiamiDade to end the existing system of the police department reporting to the mayor.
Trump has gotten involved in local races before. His endorsement of Kevin Cabrera in the 2022 County Commission election boosted him to the front of the pack over establishment favorite Jorge Fors, then a Coral Gables commissioner.