President Donald Trump participates in a call with service members of Army, JTF-Southern Border, 101st Airborne Division (Fort Huachuca, AZ), Marine Corps, Battalion Landing Team 3rd Battalion (REUTERS)
Though it's unclear if Florida can once again become a swing state, Republicans have "a lot of nervousness," while Democrats are feeling newly energized after the results of another election in President Donald Trump's own backyard, per a new report from The Hill.
On Tuesday, Democrat Emily Gregory won a state legislative district in Florida, besting the Trump-endorsed Republican Jon Maples and flipping the seat in the process. The Democratic Party had put considerable effort into the race, given that the district encompasses the part of Palm Beach County where Trump's Mar-a-Lago is located. While the area is more politically purple than many parts of Florida, it was still a district previously held by a Republican, and which Trump won handily in 2024.
This race represents the latest in a growing string of elections wherein Democrats have pulled off major victories or come much closer to winning than anyone could have anticipated. Party leaders say this trend is a sign that voters are fed up with Trump's leadership and the GOP overall, and that the midterms will see serious gains in the upcoming midterms.
Gregory's win has also given Democrats a much-needed dose of optimism about the future chances to be competitive in Florida again. While it was once viewed as a swing state, ever since 2016, Florida's major statewide election results have consistently favored Republicans. Speaking with The Hill Friday, some in the party stressed that the state is not becoming purple again anytime soon, but the latest Democratic win has emphasized their "nervousness."
“There’s a lot of nervousness among Republicans with the fact that he’s so underwater with only seven months to go for the midterms because they’re on the ballot,” an anonymous former Trump campaign adviser told the outlet. “He’s not.”
They added: “There’s no real chance of losing the state, let’s say at the governor level. Florida is such a red state right now, has gone that way in the last 10 years that it’s hard to see Florida… even turning purple again.”
Despite that prediction, the former adviser admitted that Gregory's win was "a sign of unpopularity" for Trump and the GOP.
Fernand Amandi is a Democratic strategist currently working on the Florida gubernatorial campaign of David Jolly, a former Republican congressman now running as a Democrat. He told The Hill that Gregory's win left some "indisputable" takeaways.
"The reason is that we are now seeing in Florida what is happening everywhere else across the country, which is a double-digit Democratic over-performance in every single election since Donald Trump has retaken the presidency," Amandi said. "It doesn’t mean that Florida is now a purple state or a blue state, but it does mean for the first time, I think since 2018, you can start to now say that Florida is back in play."