Democrats flipped two seats in special elections in Florida Tuesday night – one seat in the Florida State House, and another seat in the Florida State Senate.
Both elections were to fill vacant seats for the remainder of the year. The seats were vacant because Gov. Ron DeSantis had tapped the Republicans who previously held the seats to other positions within his administration. Now Republicans will have to fight to try to flip the seats back in November’s general election.
From Fox News: Florida Democrats on Tuesday flipped control of a long-vacant Republican-held state House seat in a Palm Beach-anchored district that includes Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s home turf.
The Associated Press reports that Democrat Emily Gregory defeated Republican Jon Maples in a special election in Florida’s House District 87, in the race to fill the seat left vacant last August, when GOP state Rep. Mike Caruso resigned to become Palm Beach County clerk and comptroller.
The ballot box battle was one of three special legislative elections being held in GOP-dominated Florida on Tuesday. And while the contests won’t change the balance of power in the state legislature, where for more than a quarter-century Republicans have held majorities in both the House and Senate chambers, bragging rights were up for grabs in the president’s home district.
Maples was backed by Trump, who moved his primary permanent residence in 2019 from Trump Tower in New York City to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. He is also backed by a number of top Sunshine State Republicans.
President Trump won the district in the 2024 election by 11 points. Now a Democrat has won the special election to fill the Florida House seat for the remainder of this year.
Democrat Emily Gregory received 51.2% of the vote, compared to 48.8% for Republican Jon Maples.
‘DEMOCRATS FLIP HD-87’: Democrat Emily Gregory defeats Republican @Jon_M_Maples in Palm Beach County special election, ending decades of GOP controlhttps://t.co/rg6RBUNq0C
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) March 25, 2026
In another major upset, Democrat Brian Nathan, a Navy veteran, defeated Republican state Rep. Josie Tomkow for a Florida state senate seat, 50.25% to 49.75%.
The Florida Phoenix explained that the seat has been vacant since August, when Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed GOP incumbent Jay Collins to serve as his lieutenant governor. Collins had won the seat by 10 points in 2022, and President Trump won in the district in 2024 by 7 points.
🚨 JUST IN: Florida Democrats score second upset of the night, FLIPPING State Senate District 14 in the Tampa Bay area by around 400 votes
Brian Nathan (D) defeats Josie Tomkow (R) by less than one percentage point, in the Trump+7 seat
MAJOR target for GOP to flip back in… pic.twitter.com/au2g4gP5qh
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 25, 2026
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