Democrats spent more than half a million dollars to flip a Republican seat on the Jacksonville City Council in a Special Election for a truncated term, and on Tuesday they pulled it off in a potential preview of next year’s countywide elections.
With all votes counted, Democrat Moné Holder, the Chief Advocacy and Political Officer at Florida Rising and Chair of the city’s Planning Commission, got 51% against Republican Deborah Wesley and Libertarian Addison Patrick.
Mayor Donna Deegan, a Democrat running for re-election, hailed Holder’s win.
“I’m excited to work with Moné and keep Jacksonville’s momentum going. She took the time to sit down with me to talk about affordability and those kitchen table issues so important to our community – and that’s the message she carried throughout her campaign. She’ll be a voice for every person and a trusted partner on the City Council.”
Since Holder got more than half the vote, she will replace City Councilman Terrance Freeman immediately after the election is certified, giving Democrats six of the 19 seats on the panel while Freeman runs to replace Wyman Duggan in the House.
The story going into Election Day was one of Republican underperformance in Duval County. On Sunday, which was the final day of early voting, Democrats had cast a majority of votes with a double-digit advantage over Republicans. Republican insiders blamed Duval GOP Chair Charles Barr and reminisced about the party’s performance when Rep. Dean Black chaired the party throughout the early voting period.
Republicans made up ground on Election Day. By mid-morning, Democrats lost their majority. By the last hours of voting, Republicans scored a slight plurality. But crossover vote went against the local GOP as it did in 2023’s mayoral race.
Two factors may have driven the vote split.
The first was the aforementioned cash lead for Holder. While Wesley, a retired Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office commander endorsed by more than half of the City Council, raised roughly $200,000 between her campaign account and her political committee, Holder dominated the battle for the airwaves.
The second was a persistent challenge to Wesley’s residency that Republicans ripped as “lawfare.” The contention was that Wesley did not live in at-large Group 1, given that she owned a home outside the lines, and that an apartment rented for filing was a dummy address. Lawsuits were dismissed, but the narrative was established.
Holder will have to run again in regular countywide elections in 2027. But winning the at-large race is significant. The last at-large Democrat was the deceased Tommy Hazouri.