Recounts Set for 2 Tight Races in Florida

Recount teams are preparing to count ballots again in two Florida races where the margin of victory fell below the state legal threshold. The Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Office will start the process for Congressional District 27 on Monday morning at the local elections office. Brevard County officials will handle the state House District 33 contest separately.

In the congressional race, Republican Representative Maria Elvira Salazar leads Democrat Eliott Rodriguez by 1,090 votes. The first unofficial returns from the state Division of Elections show this gap based on nearly 248,000 total votes cast. Rodriguez is a former CBS News Miami anchor. If Salazar holds her lead, the state’s congressional delegation will consist of 20 Republicans and 8 Democrats, matching the pre-election split.

The second recount involves state House District 33 on the Space Coast. Democrat Daniel McDow leads incumbent Republican Representative Monique Miller by 289 votes out of 72,571 ballots. McDow is a former West Melbourne City Council member. Brevard County Supervisor of Elections Tim Bobanic announced that the county Canvassing Board will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Election Support Center in Melbourne to begin this count.

All other state and federal races were outside the 0.5 percent margin required for a recount. The state Elections Canvassing Commission will confirm the unofficial results at its meeting on November 17. County official returns are due on November 16. These final numbers will determine the seating of the new Legislature.

Republicans keep their majorities in both chambers but have lost their supermajority in the House. Democrats have flipped 16 seats since the qualifying period in June, excluding the Brevard district currently under recount. The House stands at 70 Republicans and 49 Democrats pending the outcome of the District 33 recount. In the Senate, Democrat John Lowndes defeated incumbent Jason Brodeur in District 39. Governor Ron DeSantis said Brodeur “got caught up in a wave” of voters marking the Democratic ticket. The 2027 Senate session will feature 25 Republicans, 13 Democrats, and 1 independent, with one Miami-Dade seat still open.