AP Race Call: Republican Mario Diaz-Balart wins reelection to U.S. House in Florida’s 26th Congressional District

Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart won reelection to a U.S. House seat representing Florida on Tuesday. The 26th District stretches across southern Florida from Hialeah and the northwestern suburbs of Miami to just west of Naples on the Gulf Coast. It is majority Hispanic. Diaz-Balart is the longest-serving member of the Florida congressional delegation, first elected in 2002. He is the son of Cuban refugees and a founding member of a caucus for Hispanic Republicans. He defeated Democrat Joey Atkins. The Associated Press declared Diaz-Balart the winner at 7:17 p.m. EST.