Florida Congressional Race Settled by Recount

Hand casting ballot into a box at a polling station — Photo: Sangiao Photography / Shutterstock

After an automatic recount, CBS projected Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar the winner in Florida’s 27th District by 1,086 votes, ending a nail-biter that tested public trust in close elections.

Story Snapshot

CBS projected Salazar the winner after a machine recount kept her ahead by 1,086 votes.
A federal judge denied Eliott Rodriguez’s bid to remove Miami-Dade’s elections chief from the recount.
The margin fell within Florida’s automatic recount rule of 0.5% or less.
Official certification was expected later, but the projection reflected the completed recount totals.

What The Recount Decided

CBS reported that Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar retained her lead after Florida’s machine recount, finishing with 124,519 votes to Democrat Eliott Rodriguez’s 123,433, a 1,086-vote edge. The margin stayed under one half of one percent, which is tight but outside the threshold for a manual review of overvotes and undervotes. CBS said the recount concluded with Salazar still ahead, and it projected her as the winner based on those totals.

Earlier tallies showed movement as late-counted ballots narrowed the gap. Local coverage described an Election Night lead near 1,300 votes shrinking over time, with post-recount numbers still placing Salazar in front. Salazar said the recount “reaffirmed” her victory in a statement shared by CBS Miami, while Rodriguez did not concede as the counting process unfolded. The projection reflects the finished machine recount; state certification was expected afterward.

Why Florida Law Triggered A Recount

Florida orders an automatic machine recount when the first unofficial returns show a margin of 0.5% or less of total votes cast. The District 27 race landed within that window, so election officials re-tabulated ballots using voting machines. Under state law, a further manual review of only overvotes and undervotes can occur if the updated margin is 0.25% or less. Reports pegged the spread around 0.44%, which explains why the process stopped after the machine recount.

Close races often enter what experts call a normal “overtime” period, with steps that include an unofficial canvass, a recount of the same ballots, and, if needed, a court contest after certification. The main questions usually focus on process details, not sweeping fraud claims. In this case, the recount confirmed the lead did not flip. The machine retabulation did not deliver a different winner, which is a common result in modern recounts that rarely change outcomes.

The Court Fight Over Who Oversaw The Count

As the recount began, Rodriguez asked a federal court to remove Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia from the process, citing concerns about her impartiality. U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz denied that request, allowing Garcia to continue overseeing the recount. News reports summarized claims about Garcia’s ties and comments, but the court’s order kept the existing leadership in place while the machine recount proceeded to completion.

CBS News has projected that incumbent Republican Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar has won the closely watched race for Florida's 27th Congressional District after a machine recount was automatically triggered under Florida law. pic.twitter.com/DdmJisLHRD

— Donnie Cope (@dcopechatter) November 11, 2026

These legal moves matched a wider pattern seen in very close contests. Candidates often press procedure claims while ballots are counted again. The judge’s ruling did not decide every claim raised in the complaint, but it cleared the way for the recount to finish under current management. After that process ended, CBS reported that totals still favored Salazar by 1,086 votes and projected the race for the incumbent, with official certification to follow.

What This Means For Voters

District 27 voters saw a tight race go through the state’s set rules. The recount did not change the leader, and the media projection followed the completed machine retabulation. Supporters on the right and left often worry about power players and backroom rules. Here, the steps were public, timed, and routine under Florida law. The next formal step was certification by the state, which comes after recount deadlines set in statute.