María Elvira Salazar reports $1.4M in her war chest to defend CD 27

U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar may be targeted by Democrats, but she holds a more than $1.4 million shield to defend herself.

The Coral Gables Republican’s first fundraising report of the year shows the incumbent boasts solid resources. An April quarterly report shows she raised a modest $97,000 in the first three months of 2025, but sits on a war chest in the seven figures.

That’s despite the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) listing Florida’s 27th Congressional District as a “District in Play” in 2026.

But Salazar has been in the sights of national Democrats before. After losing a closely watched contest to Donna Shalala in 2018, Salazar came back and unseated the Democrat in 2020. National Democrats targeted her in both 2022 and 2024, but she has won each cycle, most recently fending off Democrat Lucia Báez-Geller in November with more than 60% of the vote.

No Democratic challenger has emerged against Salazar yet for 2026, but the DCCC is already raising money for the ultimate nominee next year, though fundraising won’t be disclosed until July.

The bulk of new contributions to Salazar’s campaign, more than $76,000 worth, came from PACs and business interests.

That included $5,000 contributions from Arizona Rep. Juan Ciscomani’s Defending the American Dream PAC, the National Multifamily Housing Council, UBS Americas and the Wholesale and Specialty Insurance Association.

Salazar has benefited from a significant rightward shift in the electorate in South Florida, and an embrace of the Republican Party by more Hispanic voters. The Republican Congresswoman has also tried to strike a balance between supporting President Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration stance while also urging reconsideration of an administration decision to end a parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.

A Judge recently sided against the Trump administration’s decision on that program and granted emergency relief to those foreign nationals in the United States with legal protected status.