In the 2026 Miami-Dade judicial races, look like there'll be no ballot contest

Nearly forty judicial seats are up for re-election this year in Miami-Dade. And less than six weeks to qualifying, every single one of the incumbents is unopposed.

Not lightly contested. Not weakly challenged. Unopposed.

Forty seats. Zero competition.

Judicial qualifying runs from noon April 20 through noon April 24. If no one files during that four-day window, these races are over before voters ever touch a ballot. And what do we hear? Silence.

Not peace. Because Miami-Dade cannot stop complaining.

Homeowners rage about insurance premiums. Parents rage about family court delays. Defendants rage about dockets that are too long. Victims rage about plea deals that feel automatic. Everyone blames Tallahassee. Everyone blames “the system.”

But the system has names.

They’re listed online and, if we’re lucky, printed on the ballot. But if there are no opponents by the qualifying deadline, those judges will be automatically re-elected without voters getting to make a choice. Their names won’t be on the ballot. So, let’s list them right here.

In Miami Dade County Court, they are all incumbents:

Ritamaria Cuervo
Kevin Hellmann
Joanne Hernandez
Donald “DJ” Cannava Jr.
Raul A. Cuervo
Stephanie R. Silver
Luis Perez-Medina
Betty Capote-Erben
Natalie Moore
Victoria Ferrer
Gordon Charles Murray Sr.

In Miami-Dade 11th Judicial Circuit Court, there are 29 incumbents running:

Ivonne Cuesta
Angélica D. Zayas
Jose M. Rodriguez
Daryl E. Trawick
Migna Sanchez-Llorens
Tanya Brinkley
Peter R. Lopez
Alberto Milian
Christine Hernandez
Spencer Multack
Michelle Alvarez Barakat
Orlando A. Prescott
Michelle Delancy
Stacy D. Glick
Cristina Miranda
Abby Cynamon
Marcia B. Caballero
Joseph D. Perkins
Laura Gonzalez-Marques
Denise Martinez-Scanziani
Mavel Ruiz
Richard Hersch
Veronica A. Diaz
Reemberto Diaz
Carlos M. Guzman
Carlos H. Gamez
Spencer Eig
Beatrice A. Butchko
Andrea Ricker Wolfson

There are three other new judicial seat candidates, for seats where there have been retirements or vacancies for other reasons. But even those three candidates — Charles Alexander Annunziato, Renee Gordon and Rita M. Baez — are unopposed, so far.

Judges — paid between $150,000 and $200K a year — not neutral furniture in a courtroom. They control docket speed. In civil court, they rule on summary judgments that can end an insurance case before a jury ever hears it, or watch carriers and policyholder attorneys fight over leverage while homeowners wait.. In family court, they see conflict escalate as fees climb and savings evaporate and then they decide custody schedules that shape children’s lives for years. In criminal court, they preside over plea negotiations that resolve the overwhelming majority of criminal cases.

En otras palabras, they manage whether litigation becomes efficient resolution — or procedural trench warfare.

And not one of them currently has to defend that record against an opponent. Could that be a coincidence?

Let’s say the quiet part out loud. Miami-Dade’s judicial races have long operated inside a very small political ecosystem. A handful of consultants dominate the space. Campaigns are expensive. Mail is expensive. Viability is expensive.

And courthouse whispers have circulated for years: If you don’t hire this or that person, someone might suddenly appear to challenge you.

Prove it? That’s hard. Deny it? That’s easy. But the effect is visible.

When nearly forty incumbents draw no challengers in a county this large — not one reformer, not one ambitious young attorney, not one self-funded crusader — that’s not coincidence. That’s culture.

Every year, judicial races are overlooked and these people have real impact on our lives. Insurance companies don’t vote. Homeowners do. Litigants do. Taxpayers who fund the system do. When cases drag and costs spiral, the public absorbs it.

Judges have enormous authority to demand professionalism and rein in abuse. That authority matters. And when it never faces competition, it grows comfortable. Comfortable power rarely reforms itself.

Here’s the irony: The loudest critics of the courts are often lawyers. Lawyers who practice in these divisions. Lawyers who know which dockets move and which stall. Lawyers who vent privately about inefficiencies.

But when it’s time to step up to the bench? Silence.

Because running is expensive. Because it’s awkward. Because challenging a sitting judge in the courthouse where you earn your living requires nerve — and possibly consequences.

So the system is criticized in private — and protected in public.

It’s also easier, and much cheaper, to be appointed. The Florida legislature passed a bill last year that added two new seats each to Miami-Dade County and the Circuit court benches, for a total of four new county judges. There are a combined 32 applicants for these seats, according to Eliot Pedrosa, chair of the Eleventh Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission. Several candidates will be interviewed on Friday beginning at 9 a.m. at Jones Day, 600 Brickell Avenue, Suite 3400, where Pedrosa is head of litigation. The commission will select three to six top candidates to recommend to the governor, who makes the final appointment.

The interviews are open to the public. But Ladra doubts that there’ll be an audience.

If Miami-Dade’s courts are functioning perfectly, then this is stability. If they are not, this is insulation.

And appellate judges? Voters don’t even get a choice between candidates. They get a yes-or-no retention question. That’s not competition. That’s confirmation.

Sooner than we expect, ballots will be printed. Some names will be on it. Others will not.

If no one files by April 24, nearly forty judicial seats in Miami-Dade will advance without contest. After that, any outrage is just out of order.

This kind of independent, government watchdog reporting is crucial to transparency and democracy. And more so every day. Help shine a light on the darker corners of our community with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Click here. Ladra thanks you for your support.

In the 2026 Miami-Dade judicial races, look like there’ll be no ballot contest added by Ladra on March 10, 2026
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