Florida's 27th District race remains undecided after narrow vote margin

The race for Florida's 27th Congressional District is headed toward an automatic machine recount after Republican incumbent María Elvira Salazar's lead over Democratic challenger Eliott Rodriguez narrowed to less than half a percentage point following Tuesday's general election.

Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia said Wednesday that the margin between the candidates stood at 0.46%, placing the closely contested race within Florida's 0.50% threshold for an automatic recount.

Salazar, who initially appeared to have secured a fourth term in Congress, led Rodriguez by 1,116 votes, with 50.23% of the vote to his 49.77%, according to unofficial results.

The margin had initially stood at 0.54%, or 1,325 votes, on election night before narrowing as additional results were reported.

Garcia said 202 vote-by-mail ballots in the district were still undergoing the curing process, which allows voters to resolve signature discrepancies by 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5.

Provisional ballots cast during early voting and on Election Day are also being reviewed. The county's Canvassing Board is scheduled to reconvene Friday, Nov. 6, to examine those ballots before providing further information on the results.

Under Florida law, an automatic machine recount is required when the margin between candidates is 0.5 percentage points or less. A manual recount is triggered if the margin following the machine recount is 0.25 percentage points or less.

The Florida secretary of state, rather than the county elections supervisor, is responsible for ordering an automatic recount in federal congressional races. Garcia said any recount would not begin before Saturday, Nov. 7.

Salazar declared victory on election night and reiterated her claim to the seat on Wednesday, despite the narrowing margin. The incumbent has represented the district since 2021.

Rodriguez, a retired broadcast journalist, challenged Salazar in a closely watched contest that drew attention to the changing political dynamics in South Florida.

Florida's 27th Congressional District covers parts of Miami and several surrounding communities in Miami-Dade County, including Coral Gables, Kendall, Cutler Bay, Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay and Key Biscayne.

Separately, Garcia reported that countywide voter turnout in Miami-Dade reached 60.5%, surpassing participation in the 2022 midterm election.

The review of outstanding ballots and any subsequent recount will determine whether Salazar retains the seat or Rodriguez overturns the incumbent's lead.