Democrats have secured stunning victories in two special elections in Florida on Tuesday night, adding to a series of recent wins and overperformances.
Democrat Emily Gregory, a small business owner, won a special election on Tuesday to represent Florida’s 87th House District, a seat that includes President Donald Trump’s Mar‑a‑Lago resort in Palm Beach County. The result saw her flip a Republican-held district that Trump carried by double digits in the 2024 presidential election.
Meanwhile, Democrat Brian Nathan declared victory over Republican opponent, former state Rep. Josie Tomkow, in a tight race to replace Republican Jay Collins in Senate District 14.
Nathan holds a 50.25 percent to 49.75 percent lead, according to unofficial results posted by the Hillsborough County supervisor of elections office. Florida law requires recounts when the margin of final results is within half a percentage point.
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried called the result a “shocking victory”.
The outcome represents a major upset in a Tampa-area district that Collins won by almost 10 percentage points in 2022. Registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by more than 22,000 in the district, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Tuesday’s results are the latest in a series of Democrat overperformances and wins in special and state elections across the country since Trump returned to the White House over a year ago, and the latest sign that voters are turning against the president and Republicans ahead of the midterm elections in November.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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