{"id":205760,"date":"2026-03-25T17:42:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T17:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/205760\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T17:42:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T17:42:08","slug":"gregory-is-trumps-new-state-rep-and-a-new-hope-for-florida-dems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/205760\/","title":{"rendered":"Gregory is Trump’s new state rep and a new hope for Florida Dems"},"content":{"rendered":"

By BILL BARROW and MIKE SCHNEIDER<\/p>\n

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) \u2014 Florida Democrats, beaten down by years of Republican domination in what was once the consummate battleground state, claimed new optimism Wednesday after a special election victory in President Donald Trump\u2019s home district.<\/p>\n

Emily Gregory<\/a> will represent the district that includes Mar-a-Lago, the president\u2019s resort in Palm Beach, as a state representative.<\/p>\n

Democrats are also hopeful that Brian Nathan will win a state senate seat in the Tampa area; The Associated Press has not yet called that race but he currently has a narrow lead that is within the state\u2019s automatic recount range.<\/p>\n

Gregory\u2019s victory is the latest flip of a Republican-held seat since Trump\u2019s second presidency began, giving Democrats fresh confidence in a midterm election year with control of Congress and many statehouses \u2014 including Florida\u2019s \u2014 up for grabs in November.<\/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.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added, \u201cIf we can win in Donald Trump\u2019s backyard, we can win anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FILE<\/p>\n

FILE \u2013 An aerial view of President Donald Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., on Aug. 31, 2022. (AP Photo\/Steve Helber, File)\n<\/p>\n

\"President<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump speaks during the swearing in for Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)\n<\/p>\n

\"In<\/p>\n

In this screenshot taken from video Florida State Rep.-elect Emily Gregory speaks with the Associated Press from Palm Beach, Florida, about her special election win where she flipped a district that is home to President Donald Trump\u2019s estate, Mar-a-Lago, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 3<\/p>\n

FILE \u2013 An aerial view of President Donald Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., on Aug. 31, 2022. (AP Photo\/Steve Helber, File)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

For Gregory, a 40-year-old political newcomer who owns a fitness company, 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 Republican leanings as an asset.<\/p>\n

She told the AP she did not make her contest about the president specifically, but focused heavily 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 run to be a face of the party or lead the opposition movement to Trump. She said she will go to Tallahassee focused on proposals to limit insurance rate hikes, expand health care access and lift \u201chuge, crushing burdens on the average Florida family.\u201d<\/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

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 saying the Republican candidate was backed \u201cby so many of my Palm Beach County friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

As of midday on Wednesday, Trump had not mentioned the outcome of the race.<\/p>\n

Fried praised Gregory and Nathan, a 45-year-old veteran and union worker, as quality candidates who could capitalize 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 Gov. Ron DeSantis won a blowout reelection campaign.<\/p>\n

But Fried insisted the trends suggest a competitive landscape. She noted that Tuesday\u2019s victories followed two congressional special elections in 2025 when Florida Democrats lost but dramatically narrowed the usual margins<\/a> in heavily Republican districts.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve seen tremendous overspending by Republicans,\u201d Fried said of the current cycle. \u201cIt\u2019s not working.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesman for Republican U.S. Rep. 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\u2019 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\u2019s ready to get to work for her constituents \u2014 even the most famous one who did not vote for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI should have a constituent service office available soon, and I would love to have a conversation,\u201d she said when asked what her message to the president would be. \u201cHe\u2019s welcome to call me, as I am his new state representative.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barrow reported from Atlanta.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By BILL BARROW and MIKE SCHNEIDER ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) \u2014 Florida Democrats, beaten down by years of Republican…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":205761,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[6873,28,13762,30,29,94458],"class_list":{"0":"post-205760","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-emily-gregory","9":"tag-florida","10":"tag-florida-democrats","11":"tag-florida-headlines","12":"tag-florida-news","13":"tag-mar-a-lago-state-rep"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}