Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay voters may not see their congressional candidates share a debate stage before the Nov. 3 general election.

Three TV Stations Extend Invitations for CD 27 Debate

Three South Florida TV stations have invited the candidates in Florida's 27th Congressional District, known as CD 27, to face off. Democratic nominee Eliott Rodriguez accepted invitations from CBS 4 Miami, WPLG Local 10 and Telemundo 51, Florida Politics reported. Republican incumbent Rep. María Elvira Salazar has not accepted any of them.

District Is Florida's Most Heavily Hispanic

The district covers Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay, Coral Gables, Pinecrest, Key Biscayne, South Miami and parts of Miami south of the Dolphin Expressway. About 74% of residents identify as Hispanic, making it Florida's most heavily Hispanic congressional district.

Salazar's Camp Signals She'll Skip a Debate

Republican consultant Ana Carbonell, a strategist working for Salazar, told Miami journalist Elaine de Valle on Aug. 27 that Salazar plans to take her message directly to voters rather than debate Rodriguez.

Rodriguez Proposes Three October Matchups

Both candidates are Cuban American former TV news anchors. Rodriguez spent more than 40 years in broadcast journalism and retired from CBS Miami in 2025. In August, he challenged Salazar to three October matchups: two in English and one entirely in Spanish. He named CBS Miami's Jim DeFede and Local 10's Glenna Milberg as potential moderators.

He set a Sept. 1 deadline for a response.

Rodriguez Challenges Salazar's Standard as a Former Journalist

In a Wednesday statement, Rodriguez said both former journalists should be held to the same standard they once applied to politicians. "A politician can delete a social media post," he said. "You can't delete an answer you give standing before the voters."

Pattern Points to Past Debate Refusals

The standoff follows a pattern. Salazar debated then-Rep. Donna Shalala in 2020 when she was the challenger, appearing on CBS Miami in English and on Univision in Spanish. As the incumbent, she declined debate requests from Democratic nominee Annette Taddeo in 2022 and from Lucía Báez-Geller in 2024, according to Florida Politics. She won both races by growing margins: 51.4% in 2020, 57.3% in 2022 and 60.4% in 2024.

Carbonell also pointed out that Rodriguez turned down debate requests from former prosecutor Robin Peguero during the Democratic primary.

Both Candidates Emerged From Contested Primaries

Rodriguez won that race on Aug. 18 with 53.5% of the vote, 17,150 to 14,902. Salazar won her Republican primary the same day with 81.3%, taking 28,914 votes to V. Michael Arias's 6,642.

Race Rated More Competitive as Election Nears

Multiple election forecasters have shifted CD 27 from "Solid Republican" to "Likely Republican." The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee counts it among six Florida congressional seats it considers in play.

No debate dates have been confirmed. Salazar's campaign has not issued a direct public statement on the invitations.