Florida gave Republicans some of their few bright spots on a night when Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress. Sen. Ashley Moody held the U.S. Senate seat once occupied by Marco Rubio, and Rep. Byron Donalds was elected governor, but both won by margins far slimmer than President Donald Trump's 13-point victory in the state in 2024.
Moody, whom Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed in January 2025 after Rubio became secretary of state, defeated Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon with 50.8% of the vote to Nixon's 47.9%, a gap of about 148,000 votes out of more than 8 million cast, WUSF reported. "I am your senator. I am here to serve you," Moody told supporters in Tampa. She will serve the rest of the term, which runs through 2028.
Nixon, a progressive from Jacksonville who upset the far better-funded Alexander Vindman in the Democratic primary, conceded in her hometown. "Because of the work you all did, we gave people something to believe in again," she said.
Donalds becomes Florida's first Black governor
In the open race to succeed the term-limited DeSantis, Donalds, a Trump-backed congressman from Florida's 19th District, beat David Jolly, a former Republican congressman who ran as a Democrat, by 50.1% to 48.7% with about 99% of the vote counted, according to the Associated Press. He will be the state's first Black governor and the fifth consecutive Republican to win the office, a streak that began with Jeb Bush in 1998.
"Even if you didn't vote for me, you have my word that I will be your governor, too," Donalds told supporters at the Hard Rock hotel in Broward County after Jolly called to congratulate him. Recent polls had shown him ahead by four to six points.
Moskowitz survives a map drawn against him
Democrats still scored one of the night's most symbolic wins in South Florida. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, who had represented the 23rd District, won the newly drawn 25th, a coastal seat stretching from Delray Beach to Miami Beach that Trump carried 54% to 45% in 2024 under the congressional map Florida Republicans redrew earlier this year.
With about 94% of the vote counted, NBC News had Moskowitz at 51.6% to 46.3% for Republican Scott Singer, the former mayor of Boca Raton. "This district was re-drawn to defeat me. Voters had other plans," Moskowitz said. Each campaign spent nearly $25 million, WLRN reported, making it one of the most expensive House races in the country. "I think voters reject gerrymandering," he said, adding that the race "was about affordability."
Video: NBC News via social media. Photos: Senator Ashley Moody Press Office via Wikimedia Commons (file); social media (file)
