The Democratic candidate for Congress in the 27th District of Florida, Eliott Rodríguez, launched a direct attack against Republican Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar in an interview with Tania Costa, accusing her of systematic contradictions between her rhetoric and her votes in Congress.
"The difference between Elliott Rodríguez and María Elvira Salazar is that I am an honest person; I am not someone who tells you one thing and does another. And that is what María Elvira Salazar has done throughout her political career," stated the former television host.
Rodríguez outlined three specific contradictions that, in his view, define Salazar's trajectory in Congress.
The first: to proclaim oneself "champion of immigrants" without having effectively protected Cubans with I-220A from deportation.
The second: to say that she prioritizes the economic needs of District 27 while voting in favor of the bill known as "One Big Beautiful Bill," which includes historic cuts to Medicaid and the SNAP food assistance program. "It takes insurance away from people, it takes food away from children. She votes the way her boss Trump tells her to," she declared.
The third contradiction points directly to Salazar's journalistic past: his interview with Fidel Castro in 1995, in which, according to Rodríguez, he referred to him as "my commander" and treated him "as if they were two friends."
"It seems she has a taste for dictators because now she's doing the same with Trump. She's kissing Donald Trump’s ring, something I have never done," shot the candidate, drawing a parallel between Salazar's behavior with the Cuban dictator and her current alignment with the Republican president.
Salazar has explained on multiple occasions that he used the term "commander" precisely to avoid legitimizing him as "president," and that his questions during that interview were tough and incisive regarding democracy and human rights.
Rodríguez contrasted his own track record with Castro's to distance himself from his rival.
"When I was face to face with Fidel Castro, I asked him about elections, I asked him about democracy, and on one occasion, Fidel Castro's bodyguards pushed me. I was behind him at a summit in Havana to ask him a question about what was happening in Cuba, and Fidel Castro's bodyguards came from the side and pushed me. I didn't even know where the hit came from," he recounted.
The candidate described that episode as "a completely different scene from the way María Elvira Salazar behaved with that dictator."
Rodríguez, who announced his candidacy in March 2026 after stepping down from CBS Miami after 25 years leading the local news, also emphasized the need to engage in dialogue with Cuban opponents and the exile community, and not just with the regime, referring to visits to the island: "Going there just to hear what the regime has to say does not accomplish much. We need to talk to the opponents and engage with the Cuban exile as well."
Internal surveys from his campaign show him with a 54% support among the district's Democrats and a 27-point lead over his rivals in the primary, which include Robin Peguero, Lev Parnas, and Alexander Forino.
The Democratic primaries for District 27 are scheduled for August 18, 2026, in anticipation of the general elections on November 3, in which Rodríguez aims to take the seat from Salazar, who has represented that district since 2021 and was re-elected for the third time in November 2024.
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