A much tighter contest
Republican U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart is on track to retain his seat in Florida's 26th Congressional District after a race that was far closer than his previous margin of victory. The district includes Hialeah, Doral and Miami Lakes, along with portions of southwestern Broward County and other areas of Miami-Dade County.
According to preliminary official results, Diaz-Balart received 114,547 votes, or 49.87% of the total. Democrat Nicole Locklin had 112,775 votes, or 49.10%. Independent candidate Deborah Ann Meidinger Hosey received 2,348 votes, equal to 1.02%. Diaz-Balart's current advantage is 1,772 votes, or roughly 0.77 percentage points, while the results remain subject to official certification.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Diaz-Balart | Republican | 114,547 | 49.87% |
| Nicole Locklin | Democrat | 112,775 | 49.10% |
| Deborah Ann Meidinger Hosey | Independent | 2,348 | 1.02% |
What the new map changed
The contest unfolded under a district map approved this year that removed Collier County and added communities in southwestern Broward. Those changes brought more Democratic voters into the district and altered the political balance Diaz-Balart had faced in earlier elections. In 2024, he won by nearly 42 percentage points under different boundaries.
The preliminary geographic breakdown showed a sharp divide between the two sections of the district. Locklin led Diaz-Balart by about 22 points in the Broward portion, while Diaz-Balart held a similarly large advantage in the Miami-Dade section, including the communities where he has built substantial electoral support. For Hialeah voters, the results preserve representation by a congressman who has held federal office since January 2003, but they also show how substantially the redrawn district changed the contest.
“Proven leader.”
President Donald Trump used those words while endorsing Diaz-Balart before the election. The endorsement came during the final days of the campaign and underscored the congressman's standing within Florida's Republican Party. Diaz-Balart is also a Cuban-American political figure with more than two decades of experience in Washington.
A first campaign for Locklin
Locklin, a 38-year-old attorney, was making her first run for Congress. She mounted a competitive challenge despite a major fundraising disadvantage. Election records cited in the source material show that her campaign had raised about $600,000 by mid-October, compared with approximately $2.76 million for Diaz-Balart's campaign.
Florida law requires an automatic machine recount when the difference between the top two candidates is 0.5% or less of the total vote. The current preliminary margin is above that threshold, at about 0.77 percentage points. That means the figures do not presently meet the stated trigger for an automatic machine recount, although the outcome still awaits certification and the final election process.
What Hialeah residents can expect
For residents of Hialeah, the immediate result is continuity in the district's congressional representation, combined with evidence that future races may be more competitive under the new boundaries. The election showed Diaz-Balart maintaining a strong base in Miami-Dade while facing a significantly stronger challenge across the Broward portion. The narrow statewide district margin means the balance between those communities will remain central to how the 26th District is viewed in Washington and in subsequent campaigns.
- Hialeah remains part of Florida's 26th Congressional District.
- Diaz-Balart leads Locklin by 1,772 votes in preliminary results.
- The current margin is above Florida's stated 0.5% automatic recount threshold.
