A former Miami-Dade criminal prosecutor and Jan. 6 committee attorney has launched a Democratic primary bid for Florida’s 27th congressional district seat to challenge Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar in 2026.
Robin Peguero, 39, formally announced his campaign on Tuesday, saying his mission, if elected, would be to "cut costs for Miami’s families, strengthen our broken immigration system consistent with the rule of law, and protect the constitutional rights of all."
He said Salazar "is in complete lockstep with President Trump’s agenda," noting the congresswoman's support for the president's "Big Beautiful Bill Act", which is expected to reduce the number of eligible recipients for food assistance and Medicaid.
In an interview Wednesday on MSNBC, Peguero said he believes voters, especially Latino voters, are having "buyer's remorse" after backing Trump last November and witnessing him carry out his aggressive deportation campaign.
"Violent criminals? They absolutely should be deported. Securing our borders? That's increasingly important," he said. "[But] we can't be indiscriminate with the people that we are ensnaring in the system, deporting them without due process."
The Democratic primary is more than a year away, Aug. 18, 2026. The general election is Nov. 3, 2026.
The 27th congressional district is most Latino (72%) and more than half (54%) were born outside the U.S.
“My story is a Miami story and an American story, one of loyalty and service," he said in a statement. "As the son of immigrants, I believe in a fairer, safer America, but right now, our government and the corrupt politicians who run it are not working for us.”
“It’s time for us to write a new story for South Florida — one where hard-working families stop being forced to choose between making rent or seeing a doctor, where small businesses have access to resources and tax relief, and where we no longer get squeezed by corporations and billionaires while politicians like María Elvira Salazar do their bidding," he said.
Peguero said he is the son of a Dominican father and Ecuadorian mother who met while serving in the U.S. Army. When he was five years old, he and his family settled in Hialeah.
His mother delivered mail for the U.S. Postal Service, while his father taught Spanish in a Miami public school.
He graduated from Harvard and Harvard Law School, and returned to Miami to work as a prosecutor for the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office. He then served as "investigative counsel" on the Select Committee Investigating the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol.
He's currently teaching criminal law at St. Thomas University Law School and has authored two fiction novels.