Democrat Emily Gregory has won a special state House election in Palm Beach County’s District 87, which includes President Donald Trump’s Florida home of Mar-a-Lago, flipping a traditionally deep-red seat. Gregory, a business owner and military spouse running for office for the first time, defeated Republican Jon Maples, a former council-member of nearby Lake Shores who received Trump’s endorsement in January. The district has 180,000 residents and had been vacant since August when former Republican state Rep. Mike Caruso left the seat to become Palm Beach County clerk and comptroller.
“When we started this, nobody thought it was possible. They thought we were crazy,” Gregory said to her supporters at her election night party. “I knew my community. I knew we deserved better. We deserve a leader who will fight for us.” Gregory’s victory comes despite Trump winning the district by 11 points during the 2024 presidential election, and Caruso winning reelection in 2024 by 19 percentage points before departing for his new role.
Maples had received what Trump called his “Complete and Total Endorsement,” but some voters were unaware of the presidential backing. Republican voter Michelle Hall told CNN that Trump’s endorsement was “fabulous,” saying “Anything Donald does, I do.” However, Hall expressed surprise when learning Trump voted by mail in the special election despite his criticism of mail-in voting, asking “If he’s against something, why are you doing it?”
Gregory focused her campaign on affordability issues rather than Trump’s presence in the district. “Everyone is feeling that affordability crisis and the last thing that Florida families needed when they’re struggling is $4 gas,” Gregory said in an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett after polls closed. She emphasized that Trump was not a factor in her campaign, instead concentrating on “issues that matter most to Florida families.”
White House spokesperson Olivia Wales defended Trump’s mail-in voting, stating his voter ID bill “has commonsense exceptions for Americans to use mail-in ballots for illness, disability, military, or travel.” Wales added, “As everyone knows, the President is a resident of Palm Beach and participates in Florida elections, but he obviously primarily lives at the White House in Washington, DC. This is a non-story.” Both Gregory and Maples focused primarily on affordability issues during the campaign, a subject that has proven successful for Democrats in recent elections.
Gregory expressed willingness to work with all constituents, including Trump. “I would be happy to have a conversation. And you know, all 180,000 residents of District 87 are my priority if I’m so lucky to serve,” Gregory said. “I will put them all with equal weight.” Mar-a-Lago will now be represented by Democrats across the Florida state House, Senate and US House, though Republicans maintain overall control of all three chambers.
The victory adds to a string of Democratic successes in special elections nationwide. Since the start of this year, Democrats have flipped seats in Arkansas, New Hampshire and Texas, where they won a state Senate district that had voted for Trump by 17 points in 2024. Democrats flipped more than 20 state legislative seats in special or regularly scheduled elections last fall, demonstrating continued momentum in local races despite Republican control at the federal level.