Democrat scores upset win in Trump's backyard for Florida state house seat

[dalton99a]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/03/24/emily-gregory-trump-district-win/

Democrat scores upset win in Trump’s backyard for Florida state house seat
Emily Gregory’s victory in the special election is a stunning upset that signals Democratic momentum ahead of the 2026 midterms.
March 24, 2026 at 8:31 p.m. EDT
By Dan Merica

Democrat Emily Gregory won the special election to represent a Florida state house district that includes President Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago home on Tuesday, according to Associated Press projections, a stunning upset that signals Democratic momentum ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Gregory, a first-time candidate, defeated Jon Maples, a Republican endorsed by Trump and aligned with his policies. Mike Caruso, the Republican who vacated the seat to become Palm Beach County clerk and comptroller, won the district by 19 percentage points in 2024.

“Tonight’s result sends a clear message that people want Florida to move in a new direction, one where leaders focus on lowering costs and standing up for working families,” Gregory said in a statement to The Washington Post.

Gregory’s campaign tried to focus more on local issues than the national political atmosphere despite running to represent the president’s home.

The Democrat’s victory is a coup for the party, which has struggled for years in Florida as the state moved to the right since Trump’s first presidential win in 2016. The win is also the latest in a string of overperformances by Democrats in elections since the start of Trump’s second term in 2025.

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[OAITW r.2.0]

1. Democrats will be the Party that has to deal with decades of Republican governance.

Sems like this has been - rinse and repeat - since the 70's. Republicans fucks things up, Democrats fix, and voters return Republicans back to the governing majority. Rinse and repeat.