In Florida’s special election held inside a district that includes President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, Democrat Emily Gregory won Tuesday and flipped the seat previously held by a Republican. The district is home to the Palm Beach property where Trump counts his residence, setting the race apart from many other off-year contests that Democrats have sought to use as proof of momentum ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Trump endorsed Gregory’s rival, Jon Maples, and urged supporters to turn out in a Monday social media post. In that post, Trump wrote that Maples was backed “by so many of my Palm Beach County friends,” according to the Associated Press’s reporting.
Gregory’s victory came after the seat became vacant when Republican Mike Caruso resigned to become Palm Beach County clerk. Caruso had won the seat in 2024 by 19 percentage points, and the special election replaced him on an interim basis as votes were counted.
With almost all ballots tallied, Gregory led by 2.4 percentage points, or 797 votes, the AP reported. Democrats celebrated the result as another sign that voters were turning against Trump and Republicans, as the party tries to build momentum through a string of special-election wins nationwide since Trump returned to the White House more than a year ago.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee’s president, Heather Williams, said Tuesday’s race was the 29th seat Democrats have flipped from Republican control since Trump took office. Williams argued that Americans were feeling economic pressure and that voters were “fed up with Republicans,” citing gas prices, grocery costs, and families’ difficulty getting by.
Gregory, who grew up north of Palm Beach in Stuart, had not run for elected office before the special election. The AP described her background as the owner of a fitness company that works with pregnant and postpartum women, and it said she told MSNOW after her victory that she was “pretty shocked” and “having a fairly out-of-body experience.”
Elsewhere in the state and across the country, Democrats have also pointed to election results they described as notable for breaking through in Republican-held settings. The AP noted, for example, that Democrat Eileen Higgins won Miami mayor in December and that Democrat Taylor Rehmet flipped a Republican state Senate district in Texas in January.
After Gregory’s win, Trump distanced himself from the loss in the district. The AP reported that he said “I’m not involved in that” even though he had endorsed Maples.
The Associated Press also reported that Trump voted by mail in the Tuesday election and that his ballot was counted, citing Palm Beach County voter records. It said Trump chose a mail ballot despite publicly bashing the voting method as a source of fraud and pushing Congress to curtail it.
In addition to noting Trump’s long-term move from New York to Florida during his first term, the AP described Mar-a-Lago as a hub for the president’s allies and supporters as well as business executives and foreign leaders seeking access. The president has spent many weekends there as he leads the country.