Blue tsunami washes over America as Democrats retake U.S. House and Senate

But that blue tidal surge was not enough to stop Republicans in Florida, although the GOP may have lost its supermajorities in the State Legislature

Preliminary Senate results

By J.C. Bruce

Tropic Press

A blue wave of disgust with President Donald Trump's policies has washed out Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate.

When the 120th Congress convenes in early January next year, Democrats will have clear majorities in both houses.

In Florida, however, while that wave narrowed many races, making headline contests for governor and U.S. Senate much closer than many might have imagined, Republican candidates still prevailed in statewide races.

However, Democrats made significant gains in the State Legislature, denying the supermajority Republicans have enjoyed in the House, and may be poised to repeat that in the Senate. In the House, preliminary numbers show that Democrats gained at least 15 seats; in the Senate, one. The GOP will, nonetheless, have clear majorities, if not supermajorities.

And lame duck Gov. Ron DeSantis’ effort to gerrymander half of the Florida congressional delegation out of existence, while, perhaps, not the “dummymander” many were hoping for, still fell short. Florida had eight Democrats in Congress going into yesterday’s elections. Based on overnight results, they still have seven.

While some races are still undetermined, here are the preliminary results based on outright wins, losses and projections:

U.S. House of Representatives

Democrats 258 seats. Republicans 177. An astonishing 81-seat majority for Democrats if those numbers hold.

U.S. Senate

Democrats 54 seats. Republicans 44. With two races still undecided.

Governor

David Jolly: 4,024,180

Byron Donalds: 4,132,112

U.S. Senate

Angie Nixon: 3,968,811

Ashley Moody: 4,207,774

Florida Congressional Delegation

Based on overnight results, Democrats appear to have lost one seat, reducing their total from eight to seven.

Florida Legislature

Republicans have enjoyed a supermajority in both houses of the State Legislature, but that era may have come to an end.

Based on unofficial overnight results, the makeup of the next Legislature will be:

In the House: 70 Republicans and 50 Democrats (80 seats required for supermajority).

In the Senate: 25 Republicans and 14 Democrats (with one seat uncounted). In the Senate, a supermajority requires 27 seats.

Again, those numbers are still unofficial, as this was posted and, given how tight some races are, could change.

State Attorney General

Jose Javier Rodriguez: 4,024,094

James Uthmeier: 4,177,670

State Agriculture Commissioner

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 3,984,160

Wilton Simpson: 4,160,343

Chief Financial Officer

Annette Taddeo: 3,997,464

Blaise Ingoglia: 4,151,352

Constitutional Amendments:

Amendment 1 – State Budget Stabilization Fund: Raise the maximum amount Florida can keep in its rainy-day reserve fund from 10% to 25% of annual state general revenue collection. Failed to get the necessary 60%, 40.9% to 59.1%.

Amendment 2 – Agricultural Property Tax Exemption: Eliminate property taxes on qualifying farm equipment, machinery, tools and other tangible personal property used for agricultural production or agritourism beginning in 2027. Failed to get 60%, 58.2% to 41.8%.

Amendment 3 – Homestead Exemption and Property Tax Changes: Increase the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, lower the annual assessment-increase cap on non-homestead properties from 10% to 5%, and restrict how local governments can spend property tax revenues. Passed 61.99% to 38.01%.

Note:

The Florida Secretary of State’s Office hosts a Florida Election Watch website with up-to-date and revised numbers, including actual ballot totals for all congressional and legislative races.

Here’s the link:

Florida Election Watch

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