Alachua County Democratic leaders celebrated local victories Tuesday night despite Republican wins in statewide races and the passage of a hotly contested property tax amendment.
County and city officials gathered with members of the public at a midterm election watch party Tuesday night as polls closed and results came in.
Although Democrats lost all statewide races, they gained ground, narrowing Republican win margins across the board. It’s a stark contrast to the last midterm, where Gov. Ron DeSantis won reelection by 20 percentage points.
Democrats also faced a blow with the passage of a property tax ballot measure, known as Amendment 3, which could pose peril for local cities and counties that rely on tax revenues to fund public programs. The measure needed 60% of Florida voter approval, and it obtained about 62%.
Still, Florida Democrats successfully flipped multiple state House seats, including one seat that includes southwestern Alachua County.
The country as a whole faced a deep blue wave, although Florida experienced it mostly at the local level compared to other well-known, deep-crimson states, like Texas and Georgia, which had major Democratic victories in statewide offices.
Uniquely, Gainesville is known as a blue pocket in a sea of red counties and cities in North Central Florida – with Alachua County having about 25,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans. But still, Democratic victories also soared throughout the county, even in what were formerly Republican seats.
Here’s a rundown of major, closely watched races in Alachua County with notable Democratic victories.
Florida House District 22: Amy Trask
Amy Trask flipped a formerly Republican seat in Florida House District 22, which was held by Rep. Chad Johnson.
In her campaign, Trask ran on lowering everyday costs, expanding access to healthcare and improving the public school system. She was one of about 16 Democrats who flipped a seat formerly held by a Republican candidate.
School Board District 1: Hunter Miller
Hunter Miller also celebrated his win to fill a vacant school board seat in District 1, formerly held by Tina Certain, who instead ran for the county commission.
Miller defeated Janine Plavac, a school board member in District 5 who was appointed by DeSantis, and who often clashed with board members over district leadership, transparency and administrative decisions.
County Commission District 4: Ken Cornell
Around 8 p.m., Democrat Ken Cornell celebrated his reelection to a fourth term on the Alachua County Commission. Cornell, who serves as commission chair, was met with cheers and applause as he took the stage to give his victory speech.
“ The greatest honor is to have someone vote for you and say, ‘You're doing a great job. We want you to keep doing it for four years,’” Cornell said. “It's the best job in the world, getting to serve my community.”
Cornell seemed optimistic about Alachua County's election results, noting an increase in the county’s overall voter turnout.
“ Tonight Alachua County outperformed, 63% compared to four years ago, 53%. You all did your part to turn this state blue,” Cornell said.