MIAMI — Voters on Tuesday returned U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar to office for a second term representing Florida’s 27th Congressional District, handing her a victory over state Sen. Annette Taddeo in what was widely seen as South Florida’s most competitive congressional race.
The result caps a hotly contested campaign between two Latinas in Florida’s most Hispanic congressional district for a seat that early this year appeared as if it would go unchallenged by Democrats. Democrats saw an opportunity to flip a seat blue, and Republicans saw a chance to solidify the incumbent’s place in a reshaped and reddening district. Nationwide, the race was considered a possible bellwether for how Hispanic voters feel about immigration and democratic systems in the U.S. and abroad, particularly in Latin America.
Salazar and Taddeo never debated — Salazar declined invitations to spar with her opponent — and polls showed a close race before Election Day. With early votes and mail ballots tallied and most Election Day precincts reporting, Salazar led her opponent by enough votes to secure her seat for another two years.
Salazar, a Cuban-American former journalist who was born in Little Havana, was first elected to Congress in 2020 when she beat Democratic incumbent Donna Shalala in a rematch by almost 3 percentage points, surprising the political establishment and signaling a rightward shift among Hispanic voters in a district that President Joe Biden won by three points.
In a redrawn District 27 that favors the GOP more than before, Salazar held a substantial lead over Taddeo when Salazar danced her way onto the stage during a packed Election Night party at Cuban restaurant La Carreta in Little Havana. With a 13-point lead on Taddeo, before the Associated Press called the race, Salazar claimed victory as her supporters cheered her on.
“This election proves what Ronald Reagan famously said, that Latinos are Republicans, they just don’t know it,” Salazar said.
