With more than 235,000 early votes already cast in Miami-Dade this Saturday morning, the battle for Florida's District 27 is intensifying just ten days before the legislative elections on November 3, according to reported by the broadcaster WLRN.
On Friday, Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar called for an electoral mobilization rally at the Westchester Regional Library in Miami-Dade, alongside the House Majority Leader, Steve Scalise (Republican from Louisiana), and the Cuban-American Congress members Carlos Giménez and Mario Díaz-Balart.
From the podium, the four lawmakers denounced socialism and warned that a Democratic victory in Washington would lead the United States down the same path that Cuba and Venezuela have followed under their respective regimes.
Salazar defended the "One Big Beautiful Bill," passed in the summer of 2025, as a fiscal achievement that prevented a tax increase for citizens: "Not only are we trying to do the right thing politically, we are also delivering results in the economy. If that law hadn't passed, we would all be paying higher taxes. We don't remember that because we are paying little now," he told the crowd.
The regulation, however, also included historical cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), in addition to approximately $75 billion allocated to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency over four years: $45 billion for new detention spaces and $30 billion to hire 10,000 agents and modernize facilities.
That point is precisely what mobilizes its critics.
The union UNITE HERE Local 355 organized this Saturday an "early voting party" with buses that transported registered voters to the polling places in the county, directly targeting Salazar for that legislative support.
Union leaders stated that they have gone door to door in 30,000 homes in District 27 and reported that working-class Latino voters express "anger and frustration over rising rent, gas prices, and healthcare, as well as the ongoing attacks on immigrant communities."
A state survey of Hispanics published this Saturday reinforces that assessment: 62% of the families surveyed claim to be worse off economically than a year ago, with inflation and the cost of living being their primary concerns.
The tension between the Republican anti-communist rhetoric—historically effective among the first-generation Cuban exile community—and the impact of ICE raids on Cubans with irregular immigration status defines the most delicate axis of this campaign.
District 27 encompasses Miami, Coral Gables, Palmetto Bay, and Cutler Bay; approximately three out of four residents are Latino.
Salazar, who has held that seat since 2021, is facing Cuban-American journalist Eliott Rodríguez, 69, a former CBS Miami presenter for 25 years, in a race that national analysts are closely monitoring due to its potential impact on the control of the House of Representatives.
The available polls show a very close contest: a survey by Bendixen & Amandi recorded a tie at 45%-45%, while Tulchin Research gave Salazar a slight advantage of just one point (47%-46%).
The in-person early voting in Miami-Dade began on October 19 and runs until November 1, with 28 centers open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The county has over 1.3 million registered voters, distributed very closely: 35% are Republicans, 32% are Democrats, and nearly 30% are unaffiliated, making each early vote a decisive factor for both sides.
The Cook Political Report classifies District 27 as "Lean Republican," although electoral models suggest that the final outcome could depend on Latino turnout in the days leading up to November 3rd.
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