Popular Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen faces her first serious challenger in 19 years in political newcomer Annette Taddeo, a Democrat who owns LanguageSpeak, a small translation services company.

Both women, who hail from Pinecrest, are vying Tuesday to represent the 18th district that runs from north of Miami Beach through Little Havana and south to Key West.

In a difficult election season for Republicans, Taddeo, 41, has tried to tie Ros-Lehtinen, 56, to the unpopular Bush administration, pointing to the incumbent's support for the Iraq war and votes against expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

Ros-Lehtinen, who has outraised Taddeo, has touted her success in securing funding for local projects, like dredging the Miami River, and her support for Israel as the ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Taddeo trails Ros-Lehtinen in polls, although a couple have put the Republican's approval under 50 percent. The most recent poll, commissioned by the Taddeo campaign, has Taddeo behind by less than 10 percent for the first time.

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