A view of the Florida Capitol on Jan. 12, 2026, in Tallahassee, Florida.
Photo by Matias J. Ocner
mocner@miamiherald.com
With the balance of power in Tallahassee at stake, Miami’s Republican state senators were fighting to fend off tough challenges Tuesday night while Democratic candidates flipped several state House seats for the minority party in Florida’s capital.
Here’s how things are shaking out:
Florida SenateDemocrat Ashley Gantt, a 41-year-old attorney and two-term state representative, will succeed Shevrin Jones as the senator representing Senate District 34. The district covers parts of north and northwest Miami-Dade County.Republican Ileana Garcia was ahead by little more than one percentage point in her bid to win another four years representing Senate District 36, including Little Havana, Miami Beach and West Miami. Garcia, 56, has earned a reputation as something of a maverick in the GOP-controlled Legislature since her first election in 2020, and has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s immigration agenda.Republican Alexis Calatayud is ahead of Democrat Richard Lamondin by less than half a percentage point in the hard-fought battle for Senate District 38, representing Miami’s coastal communities from Key Biscayne down to Cutler Bay. The 33-year-old incumbent has been a key vote on a number of significant issues for Miami-Dade County, and was one of the sponsors of the Live Local Act.Republican Ana Maria Rodriguez, a 49-year-old former Doral councilwoman, won her third term representing Senate District 40, which stretches from South Miami-Dade to Key West.Florida HouseDemocrat Todd Delmay unseated Rebublican state Rep. Hillary Cassel in the race to represent District 101, which covers parts of Davie, Hollywood and Dania Beach. Delmay, 55, flips the district for the Democratic Party.Democrat Lucia Báez-Geller unseated Republican state Rep. Fabián Basabe, who was found liable this summer in a civil trial of sexually harassing two aides. Báez-Geller, a 41-year-old former Miami-Dade School Board member, will represent Florida’s District 106, which represents some of Miami’s coastal communitiesFormer Florida Sen. Daphne Campbell is back in the state Legislature after beating Republican Wancito Francius in the race to represent House District 108, which represents some of Miami’s biggest Haitian communities. Campbell, a 69-year-old Democrat, spent years in the House and Senate before losing her seat in a primary race in 2018. Campbell helps Democrats’ numbers in the House, but voted with Republicans on some key bills during her previous stint in office.Democrat Gloria Romero Roses won Florida’s swingy House District 113, representing Coconut Grove, Brickell and Key Biscayne. Romero Roses, 55, flips the district for the Democratic Party.Republican state Rep. Omar Blanco won reelection in House District 115, representing parts of Pinecrest, Kendall and Palmetto Bay. Blanco, a Miami-Dade fire captain, is 54.Republican Ashley Perez-Biliskov will succeed her brother, former House Speaker Daniel Perez, in House District 116 representing parts of southwest Miami-Dade. Perez-Biliskov, 36, is a medical speech-language pathologist.Democrat Kevin Chambliss, 45, defended his seat against Republican Miguel Granda to win another two years representing House District 117, a South Dade district that snakes around the Florida Turnpike.Republican Mike Redondo, a 41-year-old lawyer on track to be speaker of the House down the road, won reelection in House District 118, representing a slice of western Miami-Dade CountyRepublican Juan Carlos Porras, 29, won reelection in House District 119, representing a slice of western Miami-Dade County that includes the Kendall-Tamiami Executive airport.
Editor’s note: Many races for Florida House were decided in August’s primary election or in June, when only one person qualified to campaign the for seat, and are not reflected here because they were not on the general election ballot.