Is Florida’s special election results good news for Democrats?

Daytona Beach – For several days, Democrats dreamed.

Two special elections for the Florida State Legislature, one south of Jacksonville and one south of the Panhandle, Democratic candidates Josh Weill and Gay Vallimont ran stronger than expected in the Ruby Red area. Supported by liberal outrage across the country in a policy enacted by President Donald Trump, they were raising millions of dollars more than the Republicans. Trump appeared to be fully concerned about one outcome of race to resolve major political appointments.

After decades of backslide by Republicans by more than a million voters across the state, Democrat leaders had to contemplate separating the impossible.

But in District 6, the results were clearly visible, just after the east coast polls closed on Tuesday evening – an hour before the Panhandle was closed. Former state senator Randy Fein, Trump recruited, will win the seat.

At the Full Moon Saloon, a bar block that is based on the West from the Atlantic, Weil supporters shattered the bars around, cheering on the early democratic trends and the announcement of mail-in votes. Tuesday may have been the party of the year for the Democrats in Florida.

Instead, a quarter of the polls ended, reporters and bar staff were comparable to the number of people revelling.

“This is another example of non-borderless democrats not overly committed,” said Barry Edwards, a political consultant and voter who worked for both parties.

It makes sense for Democrats to hype the race. Entering Tuesday, Republicans accounted for a five-seater majority in the 435-member U.S. House of Representatives. Such a small advantage over Democrats makes it extremely difficult for Republicans to pass the law without the help of their colleagues crossing the aisle. A democratic inversion or two in Florida makes GOP’s job nearly impossible and gives even more leverage to Democrats in Washington.

Democrats were also challenging districts where Trump scored at least 30 points in the 2024 election. Both were once represented by major Trump allies: District 1 was held by Matt Gaetz. Matt Gaetz resigned after Trump appointed him as Attorney General. District 6, consisting of parts of Volusia, St. John’s, Putnam, Marion, Lake and Flagler counties, was Michael Waltz’s county before Trump appointed him as national security adviser.

Polls have not yet been closed for the District 1 race.

Weil was pretty close to pulling off the upset. Trump scored the district with 30 points. It appeared that Weil had eaten at that margin over 20 points at about 7:30pm

In the days leading up to Tuesday, vote counts showed Democrats voted Republicans and outstripped the vote early. Last week, Trump attracted the appointment of New York’s US Rep. Elise Stefanik to the UN ambassador. The move was widely seen as an attempt to strengthen the Republican majority in Washington.

But massive Republican turnout on Tuesday ensured a fine win. The Associated Press called the race immediately after 7:30pm.

His victory was undoubtedly helped by a final push by Trump himself. Last week, the president called for a great terrorism. On Monday, Trump took him to social media and urged his supporters to vote for fines and Patronis.

If Balmont loses in District 1, it would be her second loss in six months. A defender of gun violence, she challenged Gaetz in November but lost 32 points. But she raised more than $6.4 million in the special election in April, federal campaign financial records show, this time supporting hopes for a more competitive race.

Evan Power, chairman of the Florida Republican Party, laughed at the Democrats’ fundraising total.

“Democrats welcome us to come on fire by millions of dollars,” Power said. “We’re looking for a challenge.”

Weil’s race may offer some lessons for Democrats. A public school teacher, Weil ran in absurd progressively in the deep red district. He advocated taxing the rich and allowing access to universal government-funded healthcare. For the most part, his campaign led to federal cuts pushed out by Trump and top adviser billionaire Elon Musk.

In an interview, Weil said he aims to convince people that the government can help them solve their problems.

“Now, in this district, progressive policies become stronger when the biggest threat to voters here is the unfair and unreasonable reductions to the critical services they rely on,” Weil said.

Weil also attributed the relative success of his campaign to his opponent, Fine. The outspoken state senator has been openly rebutting Gov. Ron DeSantis for months, and the Florida Republican has been somewhat split into his candidacy.

DeSantis himself fined Tuesday – there were few indications of unity in a significant political moment for Florida Republicans.

“If they’re performing poorly, they’ll say, ‘Look, it shows that voters are rejecting Trump,'” DeSantis said, predicting headline rounds from the sixth district race. “It has nothing to do with that. This is a rejection of a particular candidate.”

Fine looked certainly a victory from early on, and was late to actively campaign in the race. Weil said his campaign knocked on thousands of doors, met and spoke to district voters, seized the vacuum left behind with fines.

This is a broken news story that will be updated.