Key facts
- Byron Donalds was elected Florida's first Black governor, defeating Angie Nixon by 2.9%.
- Ashley Moody won a US Senate seat most recently held by Marco Rubio, who won it by more than 16% in 2022.
- Democrats gained a net 15 Florida House seats, ending the Republican supermajority.
- Democrats won all four US House districts redrawn under DeSantis's mid-cycle gerrymander and held four others.
- Aubrey Jewett said Donalds is unlikely to have the clout DeSantis had in his prime.
- DeSantis called the national Republican wipeout close to an extinction-level event.
Florida voters elected Republican congressman Byron Donalds as governor and Ashley Moody to the US Senate in the November 3 election, both by margins under 3%, the only bright spots for Republicans in a national Democratic wave. Donalds becomes the state's first Black governor.
Democrats made a net gain of 15 Florida House seats, stripping Republicans of their supermajority. They also captured all four of Florida's 28 US House districts that DeSantis redrew mid-cycle to disadvantage them, and held four others, leaving the gerrymander a wash, according to Aubrey Jewett, a professor of political science at the University of Central Florida.
DeSantis, at a press conference on November 4, called the nationwide Republican result close to an extinction-level event and took credit for Florida holding the line. The Florida Democratic Party said in a post on X the same day that voters saw through a blatant power grab.
Jewett said Donalds is unlikely to command the loyalty DeSantis enjoyed from the Republican-controlled legislature, potentially limiting his agenda. Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, told a press conference on November 4 that Florida Democrats could only imagine the result with sustained national support. Angie Nixon, who lost to Moody by 2.9%, said in a post on X that she was proud of her race and that 2028 is around the corner.