Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar won another term representing Miami-Dade’s District 27 after a recount this week, defeating Democrat Eliott Rodriguez by just over 1,000 votes.
The race was too close to call on Election Day, with 1,116 ballots separating the two candidates. The initial count had Salazar at 124,474 votes (50.23%) and Rodriguez at 123,358 (49.77%), a gap of .46 percentage points, which was within the range that triggers an automatic recount under Florida law. The recount settled at about 50.22% for Salazar and 49.78% for Rodriguez.
Rodriguez accused Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Alina García of bias in Salazar’s favor, according to NBC. He filed a lawsuit, but a judge allowed the recount to proceed.
Salazar, a former TV reporter, first won the seat in 2020 and kept it in 2022 and 2024. She had long backed President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, but during the fall campaign recess she released an ad criticizing those same policies. Some observers have pointed to scrutiny of violent actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a possible factor in this year’s Democratic gains.
Rodriguez, an award-winning journalist and the child of Cuban immigrants, is a political newcomer. He drew nearly 50% of the vote, according to the Associated Press.
In a post on X on Nov. 3, Salazar thanked voters and said she would keep fighting for her community.
