The Miami-Dade County Canvassing Board is scheduled to reconvene Friday to formally certify Salazar as the winner. The board — Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia and Circuit Judges Victoria Ferrer and Milena Abreu — verified and signed the recount results, which showed 247,952 ballots cast.

Salazar received 124,519 votes, or 50.22%, while Rodriguez received 123,433, or 49.79%. The margin of 0.44 percentage points triggered the automatic recount under Florida law, which requires one when the difference is less than 0.5% of total votes cast.

Rodriguez conceded Tuesday, saying he had called Salazar to congratulate her on a "very hard-fought" campaign in what he described as "the closest congressional race in Florida and one of the closest in the entire nation."

"I am proud of what we accomplished. Against a three-term incumbent in a majority Republican district, our campaign brought this election down to a razor-thin margin," Rodriguez said in a statement. "Our message resonated with voters."

Salazar thanked supporters across party lines and the election workers who conducted the recount. "My deepest gratitude to every Republican, Democrat, and Independent who placed their trust in me, and to the dedicated Miami-Dade election workers who worked tirelessly throughout this process to ensure every legal vote was counted," she said.

The recount began Monday morning after a federal judge ruled that Garcia could remain on the board despite Rodriguez's request that she recuse herself. Rodriguez's lawsuit noted that Garcia's son-in-law, Robert Fernandez, was an attorney representing Salazar during the recount. Garcia declined to step aside, saying, "I am not the one counting the votes. Everything is transparent and open."

During the campaign's final hours, Salazar declared victory on election night in Key Biscayne, telling supporters, "We have prevailed against all odds." Rodriguez, awaiting results in South Miami, said, "We knew it was going to be close, and it is, so we have to wait for the votes to be counted."

The contest was one of the nation's most closely watched midterm races, with control of Congress and the balance of power in Washington hanging in the balance. Salazar's victory preserves a Republican-held seat in a district that Democrats had targeted as a pickup opportunity.

The results remain unofficial until Friday's canvassing board meeting. Under Florida law, a manual recount would be required if the margin were 0.25% or less; at 0.44%, the machine recount stands.