Ballot box upset: Democrats flip Florida legislative seat in Trump’s stomping ground

Florida Democrats on Tuesday flipped control of a long-vacant Republican-held state House seat in a Palm Beach-anchored district that includes Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s home turf.

The Associated Press reports that Democrat Emily Gregory defeated Republican Jon Maples in a special election in Florida’s House District 87, in the race to fill the seat left vacant last August, when GOP state Rep. Mike Caruso resigned to become Palm Beach County clerk and comptroller.

The ballot box battle was one of three special legislative elections being held in GOP-dominated Florida on Tuesday. And while the contests won’t change the balance of power in the state legislature, where for more than a quarter-century Republicans have held majorities in both the House and Senate chambers, bragging rights were up for grabs in the president’s home district.

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Maples was backed by Trump, who moved his primary permanent residence in 2019 from Trump Tower in New York City to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. He is also backed by a number of top Sunshine State Republicans.

“There is a very important Special Election tomorrow, Tuesday, March 24th, for Florida State House District 87 in beautiful Palm Beach County — JON MAPLES HAS MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT!” the president wrote in a social media post on Monday evening.

The 43-year-old Maples, a financial planner and former Lake Clarke Shores Council member who, during his years at Palm Beach Atlantic University was an all-American athlete, made cutting taxes and government spending, reducing regulations, promoting private sector job creation and advancing school choice.

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Gregory, a 40-year-old Army spouse, owns and runs a Jupiter-based fitness center for pregnant and postpartum women. The first-time candidate made affordability, increasing public education, tackling rising property insurance and housing costs, and access to healthcare key parts of her campaign.

Maples was the favorite heading into the special election, thanks to his fundraising advantage in a district that leads to the right. Trump carried the district by roughly 10 points in his 2024 re-election victory. Palm Beach County was once firmly blue until a GOP surge in recent cycles.