Coral Gables residents now know who will be on the ballot for their congressional seat this fall: Republican incumbent Rep. María Elvira Salazar against Democratic challenger Eliott Rodriguez, a retired television news anchor making his first run for office.
The matchup was cemented Tuesday, Aug. 18, when both candidates won their respective primaries. Salazar cruised past Coral Gables attorney V. Michael Arias with 81% of the vote, according to WLRN. Rodriguez edged former federal prosecutor Robin Peguero, 54% to 46%, a margin of about 2,000 votes.
The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Two Cuban American news anchors, decades of name recognition
The race pairs two Miami television veterans with Cuban roots. Salazar, 64, holds degrees from Harvard and the University of Miami and spent decades as a Spanish-language TV journalist before winning the District 27 seat in 2020 by unseating then-Rep. Donna Shalala by about three points. She has since widened her margins, winning reelection in 2022 with 57.3% and in 2024 with 60.4%.
WLRN described Rodriguez as presenting the first real challenge to Salazar since she won the seat in 2020, citing his name recognition as a longtime local news anchor.
Rodriguez, born in New York to Cuban parents, is also a University of Miami graduate and a father of six. He retired as CBS Miami's longtime news anchor in December 2025 and announced his candidacy in March. His broadcast career also included a stint at WPLG-Local 10 News, according to Local 10.
Rodriguez zeroes in on housing costs; Salazar warns of socialism
Rodriguez is centering his campaign on housing costs and affordability. At his primary victory event at Sports Grill Kendall on Aug. 18, he told supporters: "For too many families, our community has simply become too expensive to live in. And too many young people, including members of my own family, they wonder if they can afford to build their future here."
He also argued he can win crossover voters, telling WLRN that Republicans and independents "have known me for decades, before they had any clue what my political affiliation is."
Salazar, meanwhile, framed the general election as a choice between her record and what she called a Democratic Party "increasingly infiltrated by socialists." She has co-sponsored the Dignity Act, which would create a pathway to legal status for many undocumented immigrants, and has called for a less aggressive approach to immigration enforcement than President Donald Trump's.
What District 27 covers, and how to vote
Florida's 27th Congressional District covers about 344 square miles of Miami-Dade County and is home to about 788,700 people. It includes Coral Gables, South Miami, Pinecrest, Kendall, Palmetto Bay, Key Biscayne, Cutler Bay and parts of the city of Miami.
Voters can check their registration status and find their polling place through the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections at miamidade.gov/elections.
