Republican U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar won reelection to Florida’s 27th Congressional District on Tuesday evening after a machine recount confirmed her narrow victory over Democratic challenger Eliott Rodriguez, CBS News and NBC News projected.
The recount, which Florida law automatically triggers in tight elections, concluded Tuesday after roughly 18 hours of tabulating ballots, according to CBS News Miami. Salazar emerged with an advantage of 1,086 votes over Rodriguez. Following the tally, the three-term congresswoman took to social media to state that her victory had been reaffirmed and offered gratitude to voters across party lines, writing that she prevailed because she listened to her constituents.
Court battle over election oversight
The conclusion of the race followed an intense courtroom clash leading up to the recount. Rodriguez filed a federal lawsuit seeking to remove Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia from the canvassing board, accusing her of showing favoritism toward the Republican incumbent. Rodriguez pointed to an Election Night remark Garcia made to The Miami Herald in which she asserted Salazar had won the contest with or without a recount.
According to court reporting from CBS News and NBC News, Rodriguez also cited an older photograph Garcia had posted with Salazar and alleged that Garcia’s son-in-law was representing the congresswoman in the recount. A federal judge tossed out the lawsuit on Monday morning, permitting Garcia to proceed with her duties. While the judge characterized Garcia’s public comments as unwise and “stupid,” the court determined the statements did not justify disqualifying an elected official from overseeing the count.
Garcia defended her handling of the election after announcing the completed recount figures on Tuesday evening, stating that the legal complaint against her lacked merit and asserting there were no conflicts of interest.
Fallout from immigration rift
The razor-thin margin in Florida’s 27th District marked a stark departure from 2024, when Salazar won reelection by nearly 20 percentage points. The district covers parts of Miami, Key Biscayne, Coral Gables, Kendall, and Pinecrest, encompassing heavily Hispanic neighborhoods alongside affluent enclaves.
The contest gained national scrutiny in September after Salazar released a television advertisement challenging President Donald Trump over aggressive deportation operations. In the commercial, Salazar warned that Hispanic voters who supported Trump in 2024 felt betrayed by an enforcement drive that had “gone too far” by deporting immigrants without criminal histories, NBC News reported. Trump responded by promoting social media messages that called Salazar a “backstabber,” though he stopped short of withdrawing his endorsement.
Rodriguez, a longtime CBS News Miami news anchor who launched his campaign in March after nearly five decades in television journalism, attempted to leverage the Republican divide throughout the general election. Both contenders had advanced from their respective primaries in August, with Salazar defeating attorney V. Michael Arias and Rodriguez defeating former federal prosecutor Robin Peguero.
Salazar first entered Congress in 2020 after unseating former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala. Florida election officials are scheduled to officially certify the district’s final vote totals on Nov. 17.
