María Elvira Salazar declared herself the winner of the elections for District 27 of Florida on Tuesday night, following an election day that the Cuban-American congresswoman described as a challenging yet victorious night.
“All the precincts of District Number 27 have been counted and we are ahead by more than a thousand votes. It has been a difficult night, but we have prevailed. We thank the Almighty because He granted us the opportunity to serve once again for two years in the district where I was born and raised,” declared Salazar.
In his speech, he issued a warning to the Republican Party regarding its economic and immigration policies.
"Voters, not only in District 27 but across the nation, have spoken very loudly. They are clearly telling my party, the Republican Party in power, that we need to change course when it comes to the economy and immigration," Salazar stated.
The lawmaker, who represents one of the districts with the largest Hispanic population in the country, insisted that securing the U.S. border is not the same as endorsing the way the Department of Homeland Security has implemented immigration control measures.
Salazar stated that he has been warning about these issues for years and urged his party to listen to the message from Latino voters. "We need to win back Hispanic voters," he asserted, while offering to help the Republican Party and the White House understand the concerns of that community.
His statements echo the criticisms he expressed in September toward President Donald Trump, when he released a video in front of the White House warning that some of his immigration measures had gone too far and that the Hispanics who contributed to his 2024 presidential victory felt betrayed.
The differences caused tensions between both politicians during the campaign. Trump even shared a post calling for Salazar's replacement, although he ultimately supported her candidacy in the last days of October.
A minimal advantage that could lead to a recount
Salazar declared herself the winner of the elections against Cuban-American Democrat Eliott Rodríguez, also known for his career as a television journalist. However, the counting shows a much tighter race than in her previous campaigns.
According to the preliminary results published by the Florida Department of State, Salazar had accumulated 124,474 votes (50.23 %), compared to 123,358 (49.77 %) for Rodríguez. The difference was only 1,116 votes, approximately 0.45 % of the total votes cast.
That margin is below the 0.5% threshold established by Florida law to trigger an automatic recount using voting machines, as long as the difference remains when the first unofficial results are reported.
Rodríguez's campaign has called for caution and has refused to consider the election resolved before the results are clarified. The Democratic candidate also did not concede defeat during the election night.
Salazar is seeking his fourth consecutive term in the House of Representatives, where he has held a seat since January 2021. In 2024, he won reelection by a margin of over 20 percentage points, a stark contrast to the narrow margin recorded this time.
According to the Florida election calendar, the first unofficial results are to be delivered before noon on Saturday, November 7. If the difference remains equal to or less than 0.5%, an automatic recount will be required, unless the trailing candidate requests in writing that it not take place.
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