Republican Maria Elvira Salazar Defeats Democrat Incumbent Rep. Donna Shalala in Miami

Republican Maria Elvira Salazar is projected to defeat Democrat incumbent Rep. Donna Shalala (D-FL) in Florida’s 27th Congressional District, according to reports.

WPLG Local 10 News reported Salazar defeating the freshman House Democrat in the Miami-Dade district. With 92 percent of the vote reported, the New York Times showed Salazar leading the incumbent 51.4 percent to 48.6 percent:

In 2018, Shalala defeated Salazar 51.8 percent to 45.8 percent.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez (R) also unseated Democrat incumbent Debbie Mucarsel-Powell for Florida’s 26th Congressional District. Both wins result in a net gain of two for Republicans in the House. With 95 percent of the vote in, Gimenez held a lead of 51.8 percent to Mucarsel-Powell’s 48.2 percent:

“Today was a rejection of extremism. Today was a rejection of partisanship, and today was a rejection of socialism,” Gimenez said. “This country needs to start to work together because it has threats both inside and outside.”

“I’m going to work with Congress to bring solutions, to bring results,” he added.