2001 Miami mayoral election

The 2001 Miami mayoral election took place on November 13, 2001, following a first-round election on November 6, 2001. Incumbent Mayor Joe Carollo, who won the 1997 mayoral election after successfully contesting the election results, initially announced that he would not seek re-election after his wife filed for divorce.^[1] Carollo reconsidered the decision, and though he was arrested for domestic violence on February 7, 2001,^[2] he ultimately announced that he would run for re-election.^[3]

By the time that Carollo announced his re-election campaign, several prominent candidates had entered the race, including former Mayor and County Commissioner Maurice Ferré, former City Manager Jose Garcia-Pedrosa, City Commissioner Willy Gort, former Mayor Xavier Suarez, and attorney Manny Diaz, an attorney for Elián González's family.

In the primary election, Ferré placed first, winning 31 percent of the vote. Diaz narrowly defeated Carollo for second place, winning 24 percent of the vote to Carollo's 23 percent, and advancing to a runoff election with Ferré.^[4] In the general election, Diaz defeated Ferré by a wide margin, receiving 55 percent of the vote.^[5]