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Two unexpectedly close elections in Mississippi and Florida have sparked sharply different debates across Spanish- and Portuguese-language social media this week. An analysis of more than 500 posts collected through NewsWhip and Sprout Social between November 3 and 9 shows that, in Mississippi, where a Democrat is challenging Republicans' decades-long hold on a Senate seat by just a few votes, users are debating whether the tight race reflects a broader political shift or a drop in Republican turnout. In Florida, the narrow contest for District 27 has raised a different question, whether an election official with alleged ties to the Republican incumbent should oversee the recount process.
First, Mississippi: A close Senate race with almost no fraud allegations
Mississippi's unexpectedly close Senate race has attracted attention among Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking social media users in the United States and across Latin America, including in Brazil. As early results showed Democrat Scott Colom narrowly leading Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith, Latinos interested in U.S. politics began discussing the possibility of a historic upset in a state that has not elected a Democratic senator since 1982.
Despite the razor-thin margin and competing political interpretations, researchers did not identify a prominent election-fraud narrative in the posts related to Mississippi. Instead, users focused on the significance of a potential Democratic victory, Republican turnout and the procedures needed to complete the count. Rather than fueling widespread suspicion, Mississippi's unresolved election prompted explanations of the voting process and calls to ensure every eligible ballot was counted.
Spanish-speaking journalists were quick to highlight the political implications. Spain's David Alandete (who is based in D.C.) described a potential Democratic victory in Mississippi as a catastrophe (“hecatombe”) for Republicans and President Donald Trump. Colombia's radio reporter Félix de Bedout noted that Colom could become Mississippi's first elected Black senator since Reconstruction. In Brazil, a Portuguese-language post by news portal Eixo Político, reporting Colom ahead by 49.1% to 48.8%, drew more than 331,000 views on X in 48 hours.
As the race remained close, competing explanations emerged. While Trump critics interpreted Colom's performance as evidence of declining Republican support, conservative outlet La Derecha Diario Estados Unidos compared Democratic vote totals from 2024 and 2026 to argue that Republicans were struggling because their own voters stayed home.
As the counting continued (Mississippi does not have electronic count), attention also turned to outstanding affidavit ballots, which require additional verification before being included in the final tally. Several Spanish- and Portuguese-language posts were made to explain why these ballots were delaying the results and emphasize the importance of counting every eligible vote.
Florida: A recount overshadowed by allegations of political favoritism
In Florida, the debate has taken a more confrontational turn. Republican María Elvira Salazar entered an automatic recount in the state's 27th Congressional District with a lead of approximately 1,090 votes over Democrat Eliott Rodríguez. But attention quickly shifted to Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Alina García after Rodríguez's campaign sought her removal from the canvassing board. Rodríguez alleged that García was a political ally and friend of Salazar and that her son-in-law, Robert Fernández, was representing the Republican incumbent in the recount. Salazar has harnessed the term election denier in both English and Spanish to attack Rodriguez, though, according to what DDIA has seen, she has not denounced her own Republican party’s loudest election deniers, who continue to claim the 2020 election was rigged and who frequently spread election fraud narratives ahead of key elections.
The dispute gained traction through Spanish-language news coverage. Telemundo 51, Univision Miami and América TeVé covered the legal challenge, generating thousands of interactions and comments.
García denied any conflict of interest. On November 9, a federal judge allowed her to remain on the board but criticized her for publicly declaring that “María Elvira is the winner, with or without a recount.”
The controversy exposed competing concerns about the recount's legitimacy. Rodríguez's supporters questioned whether the process could be impartial, while Salazar's supporters emphasized her preliminary lead. Yet, despite the accusations of political favoritism (detailed, for example in Miami Herald's letters to editor section), DDIA's monitoring did not identify a prominent narrative alleging voter fraud (yet).
Methodology: DDIA collected and analyzed social media and messaging apps raw data using NewsWhip, Sprout Social, and Open Measures. The data collection used to back this newsletter took place between November 3 - 9, 2026. All searches were conducted in Spanish and English.