Ex-Google Exec Mujica Targets Giménez in Competitive FL-28 Race

Hector Mujica, a Venezuelan American former Google executive who had been running for U.S. Senate, announced Thursday he is entering the race for Florida's 28th Congressional District — setting up what early polling suggests could be one of the more competitive South Florida contests of the 2026 midterm cycle.

Mujica is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Carlos Giménez, a former Miami-Dade mayor who has held the seat since 2021. CD 28 covers a large swath of Miami-Dade County and all of Monroe County, stretching down through the Florida Keys — a district geographically and politically distant from the Treasure Coast but one that shapes the balance of Florida's congressional delegation and, with it, the influence of Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL-21), whose Martin and St. Lucie county constituents share legislative priorities on Everglades funding, coastal resilience, and federal housing policy.

A survey conducted in early March found Giménez leading Mujica by six percentage points — 46 percent to 40 percent — with 14 percent of voters undecided. Mujica held a five-point advantage among independent and no-party-affiliated voters and trailed by only four points on a generic congressional ballot test, within the poll's 4.3-point margin of error. At least one consulting firm involved in that polling, EDGE Communications, has since joined Mujica's campaign.

"Families here are doing everything right, and still falling behind," Mujica said in a campaign launch video. "For too long, this district has had the same kind of leadership, focused on political theater in Washington while families here face rising costs, housing pressures, and an economy that no longer works the way it used to."

Mujica spent more than a decade at Google, most recently as head of Americas Philanthropy, overseeing nearly $1 billion in workforce training, small-business development, and disaster response initiatives across the region, public records indicate. Before that, he served as a fellow in the U.S. State Department's economic section and held leadership roles at the Hispanic Federation and the Aspen Institute's Latinos & Society Program.

He will not have an unobstructed path to the Democratic nomination. Phil Ehr, a retired U.S. Navy pilot who challenged Giménez unsuccessfully in 2024, is also in the primary field.

The general election is scheduled for November 2026. Florida's 2026 primary election calendar has not yet been finalized.

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