Democrat flips Florida state House seat in district that includes Mar-a-Lago, defeating Trump-backed GOP rival

Democrat Emily Gregory won a special election for a Florida state House seat on Tuesday, The Associated Press has projected, flipping a district that is home to President Trump’s estate, Mar-a-Lago.

The Republican president endorsed Gregory’s rival, Jon Maples. In a Truth Social post Monday, he urged voters to turn out, saying Maples was endorsed “by so many of my Palm Beach County friends.”

Mr. Trump voted by mail in the election, according to public records, a method of voting he has frequently railed against, referring to it as “mail-in cheating” as recently as Monday.

With almost all votes counted, Gregory led by 2.4 percentage points, or 797 votes.

Republican Mike Caruso, who resigned from the seat to become Palm Beach County’s clerk, won the district by 19 percentage points in 2024.

Democrats cast the victory as the latest sign voters are turning against Mr. Trump and the GOP.

“Mar-a-Lago just flipped red to blue, which should have Republicans sweating the midterms,” said Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. She said it is the 29th district that Democrats have flipped from GOP control since Mr. Trump took office.

“Gas prices are spiking, grocery costs are up, and families can’t get by — it’s clear voters at the polls are fed up with Republicans,” Williams said.

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee said last year it was aiming to spend millions of dollars on flipping state legislative seats, pointing to a favorable political landscape for Democrats in the 2026 midterms. The party has a lot of ground to make up: It has lost around 800 state legislative seats over the last 15 years, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures.