Miami-Dade voters will pick an elections supervisor. Donald Trump just got involved

Former President Donald Trump is backing a Republican candidate in the race for Miami-Dade elections supervisor, wading into the contest after years of falsely claiming the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.

Trump used social media to post an endorsement Tuesday night of Florida state Rep. Alina Garcia, who represents a suburban district southwest of Miami.

“Alina Garcia has done an incredible job,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social site shortly after 9:30 p.m. “Now, Alina is running to be Miami-Dade’s Supervisor of Elections and protect Voters’ Rights. Alina has my Complete and Total Endorsement.”

On Wednesday, Garcia sidestepped Trump’s false claims about the election being stolen for President Joe Biden. “In reference to the 2020 elections, I can only speak to how the elections were conducted in Florida and in Miami-Dade County, which were fair, transparent and the results reported timely,” she told the Miami Herald.

READ MORE: The Trump factor looms over Miami-Dade races — and Democrats are on defense

Trump did not contest the results in Florida, a state he won by 4 points in 2020. Biden won Miami-Dade by 7 points.

In an interview with the Herald after filing for the county elections job in February, Garcia said elections are overwhelmingly “fair” but cited doubts in public opinion. “People don’t always feel that they’re fair,” she said, “and perception is very important.”

In November, Garcia dropped her endorsement for Gov. Ron DeSantis and backed Trump when the two were rivals in the GOP presidential primary.

Tuesday night, Garcia posted a screenshot of the endorsement on her Twitter feed with the announcement: “President Trump endorses Alina Garcia.” In her statement Wednesday, she said she was “humbled” by the former president’s endorsement.

This is Trump’s second endorsement in a Miami-Dade race in seven days as he prepares for a rematch against Biden in the 2024 election. Last week, he endorsed Rosanna “Rosie” Cordero-Stutz in the crowded GOP primary for Miami-Dade sheriff.

A change in Florida’s Constitution requires Miami-Dade to create independently elected offices for sheriff, elections supervisor and tax collector, posts that currently report to the county’s Democratic mayor, Daniella Levine Cava.

State rules also require partisan elections for the posts, with the winners of the Aug. 20 party primaries facing each other on Election Day in November.

Unlike Cordero-Stutz, Garcia is not facing a crowded race for the GOP nomination ahead of the June 14 filing deadline. While there are 13 Republican candidates for sheriff, Garcia has only one rival so far in the GOP primary: Miami lawyer Megan Pearl.

J.C. Planas, a Democratic candidate for supervisor who is also a lawyer focusing on election law, used the endorsement for a dig against Trump.

“Being that I never bought into Trump’s election lies,” he told the Herald, “I figured he was never going to endorse me anyway.”