The 2011 Hialeah mayoral special election took place on November 15, 2011, following a first round on November 1, 2011. Former Mayor Julio Robaina resigned so that he could run for Mayor of Miami-Dade County. Following Robaina's resignation, City Council President Carlos Hernández became Mayor. Hernández ran in the special election to serve out the remaining two years of Robaina's term. He was challenged by former Mayor Raúl L. MartÃÂnez and former State Senator Rudy GarcÃÂa. Though the race was formally nonpartisan, Hernández and GarcÃÂa were Republicans, and MartÃÂnez was a Democrat.
In the first-round election, Hernández placed first with 40 percent of the vote, followed by MartÃÂnez with 34 percent and GarcÃÂa with 26 percent. Because no candidate received a majority of the vote, a runoff election took place two weeks later. At the runoff election, Hernández defeated MartÃÂnez in a landslide, winning 61 percent of the vote.
The mayoral election took place in the midst of steep cuts in city government finances lead by Hernández, which he campaigned on in the election. However, Hernández was attacked for the depth of the cuts, including to the city fire department, and his opponents criticized his handling of the budget. GarcÃÂa called for a forensic audit, while MartÃÂnez argued that he was better-suited for reforming the city's budget, pointing to his past experience. The Miami Herald endorsed GarcÃÂa, whom they praised as "[s]mart and well-versed on budget-making" and predicted "would bring consensus to a city that desperately needs it."