Florida Democrats flip two seats in special legislative elections

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: Florida Phoenix

In the only state Senate election on the ballot, Democrat Brian Nathan, a Navy veteran, union organizer, and first-time candidate, shocked Republican state Rep. Josie Tomkow in the Hillsborough County Senate District 14 contest, winning by just 408 votes, taking 50.25% of the vote to Tomkow 49.75%.

Tomkow said she will run again for the seat in November.

The seat has been vacant since August, when Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed GOP incumbent Jay Collins to serve as his lieutenant governor.

Tomkow had a huge fundraising lead over Nathan and was a heavy favorite in a district that Collins won by 10 points in 2022, the last time the seat was on the ballot. Donald Trump won it by more than 7 points in 2024.

Read more: https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/03/24/florida-democrats-flip-two-seats-in-special-legislative-elections/

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The other win was by Emily Gregory in the House, covered elsewhere. If it's not clear, Tomkow has conceded: https://baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2026/03/23/special-election-arrives-in-key-state-senate-distict-14-race

[markodochartaigh]

1. Hopefully, in the circumstance that the Democratic party wrests

control from the Republicans, voters will understand that it will take years to get out of the hole that Republicans have spent more than a decade getting the state into.

[Skittles]

2. yup

Dems have to make the hard choices to clean up repuke mess, then voters penalize them by voting repukes back in - and they get to hit the ground running.