Democrat Emily Gregory, a first-time candidate and fitness business owner, won a March 24 special election for Florida House District 87 in Palm Beach County — a district that includes President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort — edging Republican Jon Maples in a race that Republicans had carried comfortably in 2024.
In a special election held Tuesday, March 24, Democrat Emily Gregory won an open Florida House seat in District 87, which includes Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach club President Donald Trump lists as his residence.
The seat opened after Republican Rep. Mike Caruso resigned to take the job of Palm Beach County clerk. Caruso won the district by 19 percentage points in 2024.
With nearly all votes counted, Gregory led Republican Jon Maples by about 2.4 percentage points, or 797 votes, according to The Associated Press. Trump had endorsed Maples ahead of the election.
Gregory, who grew up in Stuart north of Palm Beach, owns a fitness company that works with pregnant and postpartum women and had not previously run for elected office, the AP reported.
Palm Beach County’s elections office describes District 87 as covering a string of coastal and near-coastal communities across northern and central Palm Beach County, including places such as Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Manalapan and Hypoluxo.
In an interview with NPR’s Steve Inskeep, Gregory said she kept her campaign focused on state and local concerns that she heard at the doors, including the cost of living and homeowner pressures tied to property insurance. She also said she tried to avoid the “animosity” that many voters associate with today’s politics.
The special election winner will serve out the remainder of the current term for the seat. Florida’s next regularly scheduled state legislative elections are set for November 2026.
