Voters on Tuesday returned Republican U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar to office for a second term representing Florida’s 27th Congressional District, handing her an overwhelming victory over Democratic State Sen. Annette Taddeo. Salazar won 57 percent of the vote, while Taddeo only managed to get 43 percent.
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.
“The latinos are Republican, they just didn’t know it until tonight,” said Salazar during her winning speech.
Taddeo and Salazar never debated. Salazar declined invitations to spar with her opponent and polls showed a competitive race before election day.
