Taddeo poll claims dead heat with Salazar

MIAMI – A poll released by Annette Taddeo’s campaign shows Taddeo in a virtual tie with Republican Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar.

Conducted in late May, the poll has Salazar leading Taddeo by just two points in a head-to-head matchup, 47-45, well within the five-point margin of error.

Taddeo commissioned the survey of 400 registered voters by pollster SEA, when she was trying to decide whether or not to abandon her bid for Governor and instead jump into the congressional race against Salazar, a first term Republican.

Taddeo still has to win a Democratic primary against Miami City Commissioner Ken Russell. A recent poll by Taddeo shows her well ahead of Russell.

In a year that is expected to heavily favor Republicans, Salazar’s seat is considered one of the few opportunities across the country that Democrats may have to turn a red seat blue.

Salazar’s brief tenure in Congress have been marked by controversy and outlandish statements. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she said she supported direct U.S. military engagement with Russia declaring, “Freedom is not free.”

She has also posted pictures of herself holding a colorful pinata outside the Capitol, when she voted against the American Rescue Plan – which extended unemployment benefits during the pandemic and provided money for small businesses – declaring the bill was “socialism.” She also voted against the infrastructure bill. (After both passed, however, she attended events in Miami taking credit for the money spent in her district.)

Salazar claims the media has been infiltrated by “neo-Marxists” and during her initial 2020 campaign she falsely pledged that she would not take a salary as a member of Congress.

According to the poll, Salazar enjoys 87 percent name recognition within the district, due largely to her two campaigns for Congress and her years on Spanish-language television. Taddeo, a state senator who represents a portion of the district, has a 54 percent name identification. Taddeo has run for Congress twice previously.

Florida’s 27th Congressional District stretches from Miami Beach to Little Havana and down through Kendall.