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<\/p>\nAfter a surprise victory in a Florida special election, Emily Gregory said she’s excited to represent all of her constituents \u2014 and that includes President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would love to have a conversation,\u201d the Democrat told The Associated Press on Wednesday. \u201cHe\u2019s welcome to call me, as I am his new state representative.\u201d<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s Mar-a-Lago resort is part of Gregory\u2019s district, which is anchored by Palm Beach. Although state legislative races rarely get the national spotlight, Democrats across the country were positively euphoric at the irony of their Republican nemesis being represented by one of their own.<\/p>\n
Gregory’s victory is the latest example of how Democrats have flipped seats in a series of special elections that could be a sign of momentum in a midterm election year that will provide a political verdict on Trump\u2019s second term.<\/p>\n
Here was a 40-year-old first-time candidate who owns a local fitness company for pregnant and postpartum women defeating a Republican whom Trump had endorsed by saying he was backed \u201cby so many of my Palm Beach County friends”.<\/p>\n
Gregory’s win was especially sweet for Florida Democrats, who have been beaten down by years of Republican domination in what was once the consummate battleground state. Democrats are also hopeful that Brian Nathan will win a state senate seat in the Tampa area; the AP has not yet called that race, but he currently has a narrow lead that is within the state\u2019s automatic recount range.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pendulum swings in both directions,\u201d Florida Democratic Chairwoman Nikki Fried told reporters. \u201cLast night it swung hard in the state of Florida.”<\/p>\n
She added, “If we can win in Donald Trump\u2019s backyard, we can win anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
Florida Republican Chairman Evan Power did not return a message seeking comment. Trump said nothing Wednesday about the race.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
An aerial view of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
Gregory said she’s ’embedded in my community\u2019<\/p>\n
For Gregory, it has been a stunning introduction to the national spotlight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believed in myself the whole time,\u201d Gregory said, describing her political \u201cnaivet\u00e9\u201d about the district and its conservative leanings as an asset. She was elected to finish the term of Mike Caruso, a Republican who resigned to become Palm Beach County\u2019s clerk, and she would need to run again in November if she wants to keep the seat.<\/p>\n
Gregory told the AP she did not make her contest about the president specifically, focusing instead on constituents\u2019 concerns involving the economy and everyday costs \u2014 from fast-rising insurance in the hurricane-prone district to groceries and gas.<\/p>\n
She described herself as a lifelong \u201cproud Florida Democrat\u201d but said she did not view herself as a Trump opposition leader. She said she will go to Tallahassee focused on proposals to limit insurance rate hikes, expand health care access, support public education and lift \u201chuge, crushing burdens on the average Florida family”.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just see myself as very embedded in my community, very representative of District 87,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m so humbled and proud to be their representative.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gregory expects to be sworn in before a special legislative session that begins April 20 to redraw the state’s congressional map. It’s a Republican initiative intended to boost the party’s chances to hold onto its thin majority in the US House, and Gregory said she plans to oppose the effort.<\/p>\n
She described the session as a \u201ccomplete power grab\u201d resulting from \u201cthe president’s call to gerrymander in favor of Republicans”.<\/p>\n
Trump endorsed Gregory\u2019s opponent, Jon Maples, and cast a mail ballot in the contest. The president reiterated his support for Maples on the eve of the election with a social media post addressed to \u201cALL GREAT PATRIOTS”.<\/p>\n
Florida Dem chair says party has the right candidates<\/p>\n
Fried praised Gregory and Nathan, a 45-year-old veteran and union worker, as quality candidates who could capitalise on the broader political environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe type of person and connection on the issues matters,\u201d Fried said.<\/p>\n
Gregory flipped a seat that her Republican predecessor had won by 19 percentage points. Fried said Trump carried the district by 11 points in 2024.<\/p>\n
Republicans still dominate the Florida Legislature, and they have been considered heavy favorites to hold the governor\u2019s office in November, four years after Governor Ron DeSantis won a blowout reelection campaign.<\/p>\n
But Fried and other Democrats insisted the trends suggest a competitive landscape. She noted that Tuesday’s victories followed two congressional special elections in 2025 when Florida Democrats lost but dramatically narrowed the usual margins in heavily Republican districts.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou’ve seen tremendous overspending by Republicans,\u201d Fried said of the current cycle. \u201cIt’s not working.\u201d<\/p>\n
Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Jolly said Wednesday the results demonstrate an upswing for the party as long as candidates address the economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cChange is here,\u201d said Jolly, a former Republican congressman who switched parties. \u201cVoters are giving us an opportunity in Florida that they haven\u2019t given us in years.\u201d<\/p>\n
A spokesman for Republican US Representative Byron Donalds, whom Trump has endorsed for Florida governor, took at least some notice of the latest results.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe constantly assess how we execute our strategy \u2014 that\u2019s just good campaigns,\u201d said Ryan Smith, Donalds’ chief campaign strategist. \u201cWhat won\u2019t change is our mission: President Trump endorsed Byron Donalds to deliver real results and defend the Florida Dream, and that\u2019s what voters can expect to see from us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gregory, meanwhile, said she’s ready to get to work, including for Trump.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will work as hard for every single one of 180,000 constituents in District 87,\u201d she said, \u201cand not elevate anyone over the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a surprise victory in a Florida special election, Emily Gregory said she’s excited to represent all of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":348503,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[65,42,43,64,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-348502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-donald-trump","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-north-america","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/348503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}