After longtime [[RINO]] [[Ileana Ros-Lehtinen]] announced in late April 2017 that she would retire rather than seek re-election in the [[2018 Midterms]],<ref>Lush, Tamara (April 30, 2017). [https://apnews.com/article/7b8a02ef61c44ab990c865934c69ed0c Rep. Ros-Lehtinen, 1st Cuban-American in Congress, to retire]. ''Associated Press''. Retrieved January 24, 2021.</ref> Elvira Salazar declared her run for the open seat. The district was carried by [[Hillary Clinton]] in the [[2016 U.S. presidential election]] by a twenty-point margin.<ref>Wasserman, David; Flin, Ally (April 7, 2017). [https://cookpolitical.com/introducing-2017-cook-political-report-partisan-voter-index Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index]. ''Cook Political Report''. Retrieved January 24, 2021.</ref>