A Democrat will represent President Donald Trump’s home turf in the Florida state House after a special election upset flipped a reliably Republican district that included Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach County.
Emily Gregory, a first-time candidate and small business owner, defeated Republican Jon Maples in Tuesday’s special election for Florida House District 87, securing about 51% of the vote to Maples’s 49%, according to election results.
The district includes parts of Palm Beach County and is home to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, meaning the president will now be represented in the state legislature by a Democrat. The president reportedly voted by mail in the special election.
Gregory’s victory marks a significant political shift in a district that had leaned heavily Republican in recent years. Republicans won the seat by nearly 20 percentage points in 2022, and Trump carried the district by double digits in the 2024 presidential election.
Maples, a financial planner, had been endorsed by Trump and backed by several prominent Florida Republicans, underscoring the race’s importance to the GOP. Despite that support, Gregory was able to overcome the district’s partisan tilt in a Republican upset.
The special election was triggered after former state Rep. Mike Caruso vacated the seat in 2025 when he was appointed Palm Beach County clerk of court. Caruso had won the seat by 19 percentage points in 2024.
Gregory, an Army spouse who runs a fitness business, campaigned with support from local Democratic officials, as well as Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL). Her win adds to a small but notable list of recent Democratic overperformance in special elections, which both parties are watching closely ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
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Republicans maintain a commanding majority in the Florida House, where they hold more than two-thirds of the seats. Still, the flip highlights possible vulnerabilities in districts previously considered safe, particularly in rapidly changing parts of the state.
Special elections often draw outsize attention as early indicators of voter sentiment, though turnout is typically lower than in general elections. The Palm Beach County race was no exception, with only a fraction of registered voters casting ballots.