Alexandra Marquez is a politics reporter for NBC News.
Democrat Emily Gregory on Tuesday won a special election for the Florida state House district that includes President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, flipping the seat from Republican control, The Associated Press projects.
Gregory beat Republican Jon Maples, who had been endorsed by Trump, in the race for a seat that has been vacant since August. Palm Beach County Clerk Mike Caruso left the seat empty when he resigned from the legislature last year and was appointed to his current office. Gregory had 51% of the vote to 49% for Maples with all precincts reporting. Democrats have performed well in special elections during Trump’s second term, with the party pointing to those results as a sign of strength ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Florida’s 87th District is the 10th GOP-held state legislative seat Democrats have flipped around the country since Trump took office again last year. Republicans have not flipped any Democratic state legislative seats during that time. The president carried this Florida legislative district by about 11 percentage points in the 2024 election, according to The Downballot, a left-leaning political site that tracks special elections. Winning in Trump’s backyard carries special significance for Democrats. Some of the most significant events of Trump’s second term have taken place at Mar-a-Lago, including the direction of six major military actions — most recently the start of the war with Iran. Trump cast a ballot in the special election and backed Maples, a former council member in Lake Clarke Shores, in both the special primary and the special general election, exhorting social media followers to turn out to vote. Gregory, a business owner, was running for office for the first time. Her campaign keyed in on rising costs and promised that she would focus on the issue if elected. Maples touted his business experience and pledged to cut taxes. The Palm Beach County race was one of three legislative special elections on the ballot around Florida on Tuesday, with a fourth race decided by default after the Republican candidate ran unopposed. One of the races is still too close to call, with Democrat Brian Nathan leading Republican Josie Tomkow for a Tampa-area state Senate district previously held by the GOP. Republican Hilary Holley also held a state House seat in Central Florida for her party. The special elections are taking place as Trump’s approval rating sits in the high-30s to the low-40s in most public polling, which has influenced elections throughout the U.S. over the past year. Americans also have largely taken a dim view of the war with Iran in public polling, as it dominates media coverage of the Trump administration for a month now.
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