Eliott Rodriguez

“María Elvira Salazar has become the poster child for Washington’s culture of corruption, political hypocrisy, and contempt for accountability,” Rodriguez said in a statement late Friday.

Miami Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar’s largest campaign donor this election cycle is Lenir Pérez, an industrial titan in Central America charged with environmental crimes in Honduras.

The Miami visit — coming just two and a half weeks before Election Day—underscores national Democrats' strategy to challenge Republicans even in traditionally conservative strongholds like Miami-Dade.

With President Donald Trump's approval rating at an all-time low, a large enough swing of independents or Republicans toward a Democrat could push Eliott Rodriguez past GOP incumbent Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar on Nov. 3 — a seat that has twice traded parties over the last decade. Immigration, cost of living and U.S.-Cuba policy have emerged as key issues.

The race for Florida’s 27th Congressional District flared up over the weekend when President Donald Trump reposted on his Truth Social account more than a dozen posts excoriating incumbent Miami Republican Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar.

On Friday, the non-partisan Cook Political Report, one of the nation's most respected and closely followed election year analysts, moved the Salazar-Rodriguez race from 'Likely Republican" to "Lean Republican." That means the race is considered "competitive."

In an interview broadcast Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation with host Margaret Brennan, the Cuban-American lawmaker said she warned the president that his immigration enforcement tactics risk alienating Hispanic voters who helped propel his 2024 victory.

“I’m very strong on the borders — and she isn't,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after being asked about Salazar's campaign ad video condemning and torching his deportation agenda.

The congresswoman said she would not return money to a communist agent.

A new poll of Democratic voters in Florida’s 27th Congressional District shows former CBS4 anchor Eliott Rodriguez as the frontrunner in a crowded Democratic primary for Congress, his campaign reported Monday.

Former CBS4 anchorman Eliott Rodriguez confirms he's running for the seat of Miami Republican Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar — raising the prospect of an unusually competitive race in Florida's 27th District.