Republican Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar beats Taddeo, wins reelection in Miami

Voters on Tuesday returned U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar to office for a second term representing Florida’s 27th Congressional District, handing her an overwhelming 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. Nationally, the race was considered something of a 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 competitive race before Election Day. With early votes and mail ballots tallied and most Election Day precincts reporting, Salazar led her opponent by a wide margin, more than 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, 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. “Until tonight, because 2022 has been the year of the Hispanic Republicans.”

Loss for Democrats

Taddeo, a Colombian American who owns a language services business, conceded around 8:30 p.m.

“I am sorry we did not succeed, but I can tell you we can hold our heads high because we did a great job to fight for our community,” Taddeo said to cheers at her South Miami headquarters. She criticized her party, saying Democrats need to invest more time and resources in Florida.

Taddeo, 55, entered the congressional race in June after a bid for governor failed to gain traction. Despite a late entry in the field, national groups such as Latino Victory Fund, Emily’s List and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus rallied behind her. She carried an endorsement from Florida’s former Republican Party chairman, Al Cardenas, and she positioned herself as a Democrat who understood the concerns of Hispanic voters and focused on ground-level issues such as affordable housing, abortion rights and gun safety in schools.

By the time Salazar declared victory just before 8 p.m., Taddeo supporters were resigned to defeat.

“It’s not much of a surprise,” said Scott Sutherland, 65, a retired computer programmer who lives in Cutler Bay. “I guess even a Hispanic candidate doesn’t seem to sway many Hispanic voters. We’ve been hearing about it with the polls, and we’ve been seeing Dade County starting to turn more red.”

Democrats saw a winnable race in District 27, with a Latina candidate whose family fled Colombia for the U.S. when she was a teenager after her father was kidnapped by a Marxist guerrilla group. In 2017, she won her legislative seat in a special election, flipping a GOP-held seat and becoming the first Latina Democrat elected to the Florida Senate.

Redrawn District 27

Through the once-in-a-decade redistricting process, the Florida Legislature sought to shore up Salazar’s district. The new district lost all of its Miami Beach territory, which was redrawn into neighboring Congressional District 24, a safely Democratic seat.

In the new FL-27, the Colombian-American vote became an important swing bloc in the race. As they battled for attention, Taddeo and Salazar both campaigned on traditional chiva buses, appeared on Colombian media and weighed in on the results of the South American country’s most recent presidential election. Recently, both candidates made social media posts with former Colombian President Iván Duque during a trip to Miami, implying support from the politician even though he did not endorse either candidate.

During the campaign, Taddeo made efforts to brand Salazar as a liar and an over-the-top TV personality, creating her own “Maria Mentirosa” nickname for the congresswoman. Taddeo attacked Salazar over misleading claims that she was one of the founders of the Spanish-language TV networks in the U.S., Telemundo and Univision. The Florida Democratic Party also spread mailers in the district trying to turn around the “socialist” insult that Miami Republicans often use for Democrats, claiming that Salazar’s votes against abortion rights and lowering the cost of prescription drugs prove she “votes like a socialist” in Congress.

Salazar, 60, focused on the economy during much of her campaign, accusing Democrats of pursuing problematic financial policies that have inflated consumer prices, even though experts say the current economic situation stems from pandemic supply chain issues and government spending endorsed by both Democrats and Republicans, under both former President Donald Trump and Biden.

“We have sent during this election a very clear message to Washington,” Salazar said Tuesday night. “Stay out of our way, and out of our pockets.”

Specter of socialism

The congresswoman also framed part of her reelection effort as a fight against politics of the far-left, using the specter of socialism to attack Taddeo and win favor with the Hispanic majority in Florida’s 27th Congressional District.

Republicans tied Taddeo to the Miami chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, harping back to a picture from 2018 where Taddeo spoke during a community meeting at the Second Baptist Church in Richmond Heights. Taddeo denied the meeting was hosted by DSA members and slammed Salazar for misrepresenting the event.

On Tuesday, Salazar celebrated her reelection as a signal that Hispanics in her district are firmly rejecting the Democratic Party.

“The last two years, the radical left has tried to change the course of this country. But the founding fathers created a system that was too strong and is still standing on the pillars of faith, family and freedom,” Salazar told supporters. “Where we are — we’re in the heart of District 27 at this hour — is the best example in the whole country probably of how the Hispanics, we the people that live in this country, revere and adore what we call the American exceptionalism.”

Salazar also spent much of her first term advocating for immigration reform, a topic drawn to the forefront amid a massive influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, many of whom are fleeing unstable political situations in their home nations.

A centerpiece of Salazar’s platform, an immigration reform bill called “The Dignity Act,” has drawn criticism on the left and right. She touted the bill as a “historic and complete plan” that will secure the U.S.-Mexico border and provide a path for citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

“The plan simultaneously takes people out of the shadows and into the workforce,” Salazar said during her victory speech. She invited members of the U.S. House and senators from both parties to discuss The Dignity Act with her, establishing the legislation as a key goal for her second term.

On the campaign trail, Salazar said the bill would pass only if voters gave Republicans control of the U.S. House. Following Gov. Ron DeSantis’ efforts to send Venezuelan migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Salazar demurred and tried to refocus attention on her bill.

Miami Herald staff writer Bianca Padró Ocasio contributed to this report.