The Democrats have flipped a seat in the Florida state house in the district that represents Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
Emily Gregory defeated Republican Jon Maples in the special election on Tuesday evening in Florida’s 87th state house district.
In 2024, a Republican won the seat by 19 percentage points, and this time Maples had been endorsed by Trump, who voted in the race via mail-in ballot.
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But the Associated Press called the result as a shock win for the Democrats on Tuesday evening when Gregory led by more than 2 percentage points.
The result is the latest positive result for the Democrats in special elections since Trump’s reelection, as the party build momentum ahead of crunch midterm elections later this year.
Speaking to MSNBC on Tuesday, first-time candidate Gregory, who is a public health expert and small business owner, said: “When I started this nine months ago, I obviously thought it was possible.”
She later added: “I might have done some crazy calculus to decide that this was a flip opportunity, but it was. And we did it. So my math worked.”
The result was celebrated by Ken Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, who said voters had “sent a message.”
“If Democrats can win in Trump’s backyard, we sure as hell can win anywhere across the country. Onward to November!” Martin wrote.
Before the election, Trump had endorsed Maples in a post on Truth Social.
Clearly his words were ignored…