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Republican U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar and Democratic challenger Eliott Rodriguez<\/p>\n
Provided<\/p>\n
In the November election for U.S. House District 27, Republican U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar is seeking a fourth term against retired Miami TV anchor Eliott Rodriguez.<\/p>\n
Although the district leans red, this race is expected to be competitive, and it is about more than just this seat \u2014 it\u2019s about holding President Donald Trump accountable on issues like tariffs, the Iran war, the weaponization of the federal government and mass deportations. Rodriguez, a Democrat, is better suited to do that than Salazar, who\u2019s endorsed by Trump, though she broke with him recently on deportations.<\/a><\/p>\n A Cuban-American running in a district that covers areas like Little Havana, Westchester and the city of Miami, Rodriguez, 70, understands the issues after covering South Florida for CBS News Miami for 25 years. He first became publicly involved in politics last year, when he joined a South Florida campaign called Keep Them Honest that called out Miami\u2019s GOP representatives, including Salazar, for not doing enough to oppose Trump\u2019s immigration policies.<\/p>\n He said he decided to run because of the high cost of living, saying his own children cannot to afford living in South Florida. If elected, he would like to establish a low-interest mortgage program for qualified home buyers, especially young families, and would vote to restore healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.<\/p>\n He said ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has \u201cbecome a paramilitary group for Donald Trump\u201d and it \u201cneeds to be reformed drastically.\u201d He supports extending Temporary Protected Status, revoked by the administration, for Venezuelans and Haitians.<\/p>\n \u201cI am not for open borders, and I believe in a strong border security, and I believe that we should abide by the rules of the game, but not by picking up people in courtrooms when they\u2019re trying to do everything by the rules, grabbing them and taking them… to third countries,\u201d Rodriguez told the Herald Editorial Board in July.<\/p>\n He\u2019s against the war in Iran and said it\u2019s another reason he\u2019s running \u2014 \u201cbecause we need to stand up to this president.\u201d He wants the U.S. House to \u201cforce a vote in Congress on this war.\u201d<\/p>\n Salazar, by contrast, voted against<\/a> ending the war in September. In March, she told Bloomberg TV<\/a> that the war would not be \u201ca long-term conflict\u201d and that congressional approval was not needed \u201cbecause we are not entering into a war.\u201d Her predictions were wrong: The conflict has stretched for almost seven months, raising gas prices.<\/p>\n On immigration, Salazar clearly understands that Trump\u2019s immigration policies are hurting her standing with Hispanics who make up 73% of District 27. She recently ran an ad denouncing the president on mass deportations. She\u2019s also pushing her immigration reform bill, the Dignity Act, which has little chance of becoming law, and voted to extend Haitian TPS (the measure hasn\u2019t cleared the U.S. Senate).<\/p>\n Salazar has been more outspoken on immigration than her Miami Republican counterparts, U.S. Rep. Carlos Gim\u00e9nez and Mario Diaz-Balart. But she \u201cproudly voted YES\u201d to pass Trump\u2019s signature Big Beautiful Bill, as she wrote on social media<\/a> last year. She wrote the bill \u201ccuts taxes, protects your tips and overtime.\u201d Here\u2019s what else it did: it cut food stamps and Medicaid and turned ICE into the highest-funded<\/a> federal law enforcement agency, with the largest increases in funding to detain and deport migrants, according to the Brennan Center for Justice<\/a>.<\/p>\n Salazar declined to meet with the Herald Editorial Board unless we explained to her why we endorsed her Republican primary opponent in August (she did not meet with us then either). In a letter to the Editorial Board, which she posted on X, she wrote that the Board, despite saying the Dignity Act was a \u201cgood start\u201d on immigration reform last year, endorsed her opponent<\/a>, V. Michael Arias, who criticized the bill as \u201camnesty.\u201d She said that endorsement \u201craises serious concerns about the standards, consistency, and rigor of the process.\u201d<\/p>\n She also cited some of her achievements: passing bills to require digital platforms to remove nonconsensual intimate images and AI-generated deepfakes, and to strengthen the federal government\u2019s ability to recover money stolen through fraudulent COVID-relief schemes. She said she brought more than $89 million back to her district.<\/p>\n Salazar is good about listing her accomplishments, but she\u2019s shown she\u2019s averse to defending her record under questioning.<\/p>\n The Herald endorses ELIOTT RODRIGUEZ for U.S. House District 27.<\/p>\n BEHIND THE STORY MORE <\/a> Who decides the political endorsements? <\/p>\n