Salazar keeps House seat after break with Trump on immigration

Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) is projected to win reelection to her seat in Florida’s 27th Congressional District despite breaking with President Trump on his immigration agenda during the campaign, according to Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ).

She is set to clinch a narrow win over Democrat Eliott Rodriguez, in the south Florida district, notching about 50.2 percent to her opponent’s 49.8 percent, with more than 95 percent of the vote tallied Tuesday evening.

Salazar made headlines in September when she posted a video criticizing the president for the execution of his immigration agenda. She said Trump had gone “too far” and that Hispanic Trump voters felt “betrayed” by the president. Salazar said she doesn’t support amnesty for immigrants without legal status but a “dignified life in this promised land.”

In September, Trump said he still supported Salazar even after the video bashing him. Trump said Salazar doesn’t have a “very strong feeling” in regard to border security but affirmed his support for the Florida Republican anyway.

DDHQ forecast Salazar as the likely winner of the race even after polls sponsored by Democrats showed a tight race in early September. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) traveled to the district to campaign for Salazar’s opponent.

Issues highlighted on her campaign website include small business and the economy, healthcare, public safety and fighting socialism. Salazar was raised in Miami by parents who fled Cuba following Fidel Castro’s rise to power.