Salazar Wins Florida District 27 Race After Recount

Maria Elvira Salazar won Florida’s 27th Congressional District race after a machine recount, with the Miami-Dade Canvassing Board declaring her the winner on November 10. The board counted 247,952 votes and reported Salazar with 50.22% and Democrat Eliott Rodriguez with 49.78%. The narrow margin after Election Day required the recount under Florida law.

The count took nearly two days. Salazar maintained her lead as election officials processed the ballots, and the board announced the result after the recount. The reported totals gave Salazar a margin of 0.44 percentage points.

Before the count, Rodriguez sought to remove Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia from the canvassing process. U.S. District Judge David S. Leibowitz denied the request on November 9, allowing Garcia to remain on the board. The ruling cleared the way for the recount to proceed under the existing county process.

Rodriguez’s lawsuit alleged that Garcia’s election-night remarks and family connections to Salazar’s legal representation raised concerns about impartiality. The campaign cited Garcia’s reported statement that Salazar had won with or without a recount, as well as allegations that Garcia’s...