Margaret Good won a special election for state representative in Florida’s 72nd district on Tuesday night, the Democratic party’s 36th legislative flip since President Donald Trump’s inauguration last year.
The closely watched race pitted Good against Libertarian Alison Foxall and Republican James Buchanan, whose father Vern represents the area in Congress.
The seat opened up after Republican Alex Miller resigned last year, citing her family and business as reasons. Trump won the district by just five points, where Republicans outnumber Democrats by some 13,000 voters.
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Good’s final margin was nearly eight points and over 3,000 votes.
The Democratic party, bullish on gaining momentum before the 2018 midterm elections, set its sights on the Sarasota district as another opportunity to flip a legislative seat nationwide.
Just last week, a Democrat won a special election in Missouri in a district that Trump won by a 61-33 margin—the party’s second flip this year, following a surprise in Wisconsin in January.
Days before Florida’s special election, local polling indicated that Good had a small three-point lead, but a much larger lead among those who had already said they voted.
The Florida race had taken on national prominence in part due to a string of high-profile endorsements. Former Vice President Joe Biden endorsed Good and former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley headlined a fundraiser for her recently.
This past weekend, former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski rallied supporters on behalf of Buchanan, alongside former deputy campaign manager David Bossie. Voters at the event reportedly broke out into a “lock her up” chant.
“I am here to make sure one thing happens, that Buchanan goes to the State House and we don’t have another Democrat in the office,” Lewandowski reportedly said.
