Is Maria Elvira Salazar finally getting a real challenger in Eliott Rodriguez?

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People are talking and Democrats are dreaming

For years now, Democrats have searched — sometimes desperately — for someone who could seriously threaten U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar in a district that stubbornly refuses to behave the way they want. They may have just found him.

Newly retired CBS Miami anchor Eliott Rodriguez, one of the most recognizable faces in South Florida television news, is being actively recruited to challenge Salazar — and Ladra is hearing the same word from multiple political corners: Gamechanger.

Not “interesting.” Not “promising.” Gamechanger.

If Rodriguez runs, Miami could be headed toward the political equivalent of a sweeps-week showdown: anchor vs. anchor, brand vs. brand, Cuban-American communicator vs. Cuban-American communicator — except this time the teleprompter is replaced by a campaign trail.

And unlike some sacrificial lamb Democrats have fielded in recent cycles, Rodriguez would begin with something money can’t easily buy: universal name recognition. He can skip the expensive introduction phase and “get into the cycle of direct messaging” immediately. You don’t have to explain who he is to abuela.

Rodriguez has kept saying he is “strongly considering” a run. “The reason I would do it is because I have a choice between being angry all the time and cursing at the TV or doing something positive, concrete. And I think we can flip this seat blue.”

But let’s be real. He’s in. This is not a “rumor.” This has been a calculated roll out. And now it would be irresponsible of him not to run after he’s given everyone hope. He’s got the name rec, he’s got the backing — Rodriguez is considering this at the prodding of healthcare mogul Miguel “Mike” Fernandez, who helped fund the Keep The Honest campaign to blast our sitting congress members for their silence and complicity in the current administration’s cruel and unjust immigration policies.

They must have polled already because Democrat pollster Fernand Amandi — who recruited Donna Shalala for that seat in 2018 and helped Miami Commissioner Damian Pardo win his seat — is also pushing Rodriguez to run.

“Eliott Rodriguez is a dream candidate out of central casting for Democrats,” Amandi told Political Cortadito. “He’s extremely well-known, extremely well-respected, extremely well-liked. And he has been a trusted, respected community icon as long as I’ve been alive.

“The qualities that Democrats, Independents and Republicans frustrated with Maria Elvira are most looking for in a candidate is someone who is in the best position to win and that is only Eliott Rodriguez on paper,” Amandi said.

Sounds like a poll to Ladra.

Rodriguez, 69, is an award-winning journalist who worked almost exclusively in Miami — except for a couple years in Philadelphia — at The Miami News, WPLG Local 10 and CBS4 News, where he retired in December after 25 years. He has spent nearly five decades reporting news and facts and nobody really knew what party he belonged to. When news first broke about Rodriguez running, some people thought the recent calls to primary Salazar — because she is “soft” on immigration, in their warped view — was real.

But no. Rodriguez is a Democrat. Although nobody could have guessed it because he’s always remained neutral.

Until he retired. Back when he announced he was stepping aside to “let the changes in our industry play out without me,” he did not hint at a run for Congress.

“People often say they leave a job to be closer to their family, and that’s not always true. In my case, it is. And here’s why,” Rodriguez said in his message. “My wife and I have a blended family with six daughters and six grandchildren. Over the years, I’ve missed holidays, birthdays, graduations, school plays, soccer matches and so much more because I’ve been busy working, doing the job I love deeply. Delivering news to South Florida has been the honor of a lifetime for me.

“But I blinked and my daughters are all grown up. They’re adults, and I missed a lot of it. I don’t want the same to happen with my grandkids. My plan is to spend as much time with them, quality time with them,as I can. That’s why I am stepping aside at this time.”

Well, he must have realized that quality time is not longer than two months because already he wants to go to Washington.

Right after he retired, Rodriguez lent his voice to the growing chorus of community icons who are denouncing the Trump administration’s ugly immigration tactics and the complicity of South Florida’s Republican congressional delegation. In an ad released last month by the Keep Them Honest campaign, Rodriguez talks about his Cuban roots and how immigrants have built this community.

“Yes, secure borders matter, but so does due process and our constitution,” Rodriguez looked straight into the camera and delivered a line that, in hindsight, may have been less commentary and more soft launch: “When our leaders stay silent as these rights are trampled on, that silence is not leadership.”

Read related: Miami icons step up where politicians won’t to denounce ICE raids, tactics

At the time, it registered as a rare partisan moment from a journalist who spent decades projecting neutrality. Now? It reads like a clue. It may have been the first campaign ad we just didn’t know was one yet.

And make no mistake — immigration is the terrain where this race would likely be fought.

Salazar has tried to thread a very South Florida needle: supporting tougher enforcement while promoting legal protections for certain undocumented workers. She insists she has “never been silent.” But her “Dignity Act” proposal — in which immigrants have to keep paying to stay here but never get a chance at citizenship — sounds more like slavery than hope.

And Democrats smell opportunity amid backlash to federal crackdowns, believing the issue could shift suburban and moderate voters who have drifted right in recent cycles. She’s already vulnerable from attacks about her misrepresentations when she presents community checks that she did not vote for. Hard Republicans don’t like her because she’s soft on immigration. Moderate Republicans don’t like her because she’s not strong enough on the Epstein Files and everything else.

Why do you think her camp scrambled Tuesday to get the POTUS endorsement so early in the campaign, and within hours of the news about Rodriguez possibly jumping in? Because they know this is the campaign that could end her political career.

In a Truth Social post, the president praised Salazar. “Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar is doing a truly fantastic job representing the wonderful people of Florida’s 27th Congressional District!” Trump wrote. “María Elvira Salazar has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election – SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”

She already has, Donnie. Most recently, with her comments about Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show, which she should have either supported or just shut up about. Instead, Salazar went on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to blast Benito.

“The Super Bowl is the biggest game of America’s most iconic sport,” Salazar wrote. “It’s a national moment to bring the whole country together, and let’s be honest — it should not be a multicultural fair. Its audience is overwhelmingly English-speaking, and they deserve a halftime show they can understand and enjoy.

“To have a fully Spanish-language halftime show, with no subtitles, isn’t inclusive. It’s exclusive. In Miami, we listen to Spanish music, but we put America First,” she continued, unable to read the room. “Unfortunately, today, instead of talking about the great contributions Hispanics make to our country—the legal ones and the undocumented—we are debating how poorly this event missed the mark. A very big opportunity lost!!”

Yeah, her opportunity to stay away from the racist BS that has marked the criticism of this performance from the moment it was announced.

Read related: Maria Elvira Salazar’s immigration epiphany: Is it just late or performative?

Meanwhile, Rodriguez didn’t only watch the show, he went to a Bad Bunny concert in Puerto Rico, with his wife, who is Boricua. “And it was one of the best concerts I have ever been to,” he told Ladra. “We had a great time. I’m not your traditional reggaeton fan, but some of his music sounds like the music I grew up with, salsa.”

Still, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s not going to be a cakewalk. If Rodriguez jumps in, this is Goliath vs. Goliath.

Born in New York to Cuban parents, he has lived in congressional district 27 since 1968, except the years he worked in Philadelphia. He knows how the neighborhood has changed and how people are hurting. “My daughters have had to move from south Florida because it’s unaffordable,” he told Ladra. “We deserve better representation.”

See? He’s talking like a candidate already.

Heavy hitters are already nudging him. In a Miami Herald story breaking the news, former Miami Dade College President Eduardo Padrón says he “cannot think of a better candidate.” Wildlife icon Ron Magill describes community leaders warning of a political “crisis.” Veteran reporter Michael Putney calls the prospect “very exciting.”

Both Padrón and Putney were also in those video ads that target our GOP congress members. But that is still not normal pre-candidate chatter. That is recruitment season.

Maybe someone should also go have a talk with the other two Democrat candidates — Richard Lamondin and Robin Peguero — who have been grinding through the unglamorous work of campaigning for months, raising money and locking down endorsements. Many say they would do well to bow out graciously and endorse Rodriguez and then set their sights on a number of state races where they can flip another seat. If they really want to run for Congress, there’s always Carlos Gimenez.

They shouldn’t run just to lose their first race in the primary. Sure, esto cae mal, but they would be wasting their time. Each of them have promising futures. Ladra has to say that, while not having met either of them, she has a particular soft spot in her heart for Peguero, the January 6 prosecutor. Still, either one of them would make a good candidate in another race.

Read related: Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar signs books, dodges questions, and sells “Dignity”

But maybe one or both of them thinks that Rodriguez is too old to be effective or representative of an electorate that wants more young and future-minded leaders. There’s also the possibility that they think (read: hope) he’s not serious. After all, running at 69 means trading a well-earned retirement for attack ads, opposition research, fundraising calls, and the uniquely modern joy of having your entire life litigated on social media.

As Putney delicately warned, campaigns “can get dirty and can be nasty.” And one thing is guaranteed: María Elvira will not just throw her hands up and surrender that seat quietly. Because she knows she’ll never get it back.

So is this the long-awaited Democratic breakthrough — or just the latest boomlet fueled by donor wishcasting?

Here’s what you can’t ignore: After several cycles of political dominoes with no one daring to slam the table, María Elvira may finally be staring at the kind of opponent who can command a camera, control a narrative, and — most dangerously — already lives in voters’ living rooms.

And if Rodriguez does run, one thing becomes certain overnight: This race goes from one of the most watched congressional battles in Florida — and, possibly, the country — to the most watched congressional race.

But both of these candidates are used to people watching them.

You can help get more independent, watchdog reporting of our local government and elections with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Just click here. Ladra thanks you for your support.

  Congressional District 27, Eliott Rodriguez, Maria Elvira Salazar