Democrat Donna Shalala won with nearly 52 percent of the vote, defeating her Republican opponent Maria Elvira Salazar in the race for Florida's 27th Congressional District.
Her victory comes following years of Republican control.
Shalala, 77, the longest-serving Health and Human Services Secretary in U.S. history and former University of Miami president, will be replacing Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, one of President Donald Trump's most prominent Republican critics in Congress.
During her victory speech, Shalala reminded the crowd that she understands that the district is a community of immigrants and asked for her Cuban cousins in the crowd.
She also said she stands with immigrants and with the LGBTQ community.