Acknowledging Republicans face a “headwind cycle” in Tuesday’s elections, Florida’s incoming House and Senate leaders stressed that hard campaigning and a close working relationship will carry their party through election night and into the 2027 legislative session.
Messages of unity by both House Speaker-designate Sam Garrison, R-Fleming Island, and Senate President-designate Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, signaled a new era of close collaboration following two tumultuous years in the Florida Capitol.
Appearing on State Affairs’ “Between the Lines with Dara Kam”podcast Monday, Boyd and Garrison, who will take over as presiding officers of their respective chambers following Tuesday’s election, acknowledged that Republicans across the board face challenges in the 2026 midterms.
The GOP’s strength in Florida, where Republicans have a 1.5 million voter-registration edge over Democrats and hold supermajorities in both the House and Senate, provides a buffer compared to other states, the leaders said.
“There are seasons where you have tailwinds and seasons where you have headwinds, and this is a headwind cycle,” said Garrison, drawing a college football analogy. “Some games you're the Gators playing at the Swamp and the crowd’s on your side and you’ve got the energy behind you, and sometimes you’ve got to go on the road and win on the road. This is kind of that road game mentality from our perspective.”
With Florida Democrats expected to make gains in state House races, Garrison declined to predict whether they would pick up enough seats to crack the GOP’s supermajority.
“I don't care,” Garrison said in the episode recorded last week. “I think one of the mistakes that we make as political leaders in the Legislature is when you get sucked into outcomes. … Whatever the number is, honestly, I know we're going to have a strong conservative majority. If it’s super majority, great. If it’s not, I’ll be disappointed. But at the end of the day, I’m focused on getting one more door and getting one more voter converted to get off their couch and go to the polls. That’s all I care about.”
Tuesday’s outlook is “still very, very much in favor” of conservative Republicans in Florida, Garrison said, but “the national headwinds are real, so we’re having to go out and work a little bit harder”
In one of their first joint appearances as the chambers’ incoming leaders, Boyd and Garrison emphasized their commitment to working together for the next two years. The pair “share some common goals” but, when pressed, did not elaborate on their priorities as leaders.
“There’s different philosophies on how to do this, but Sen. Boyd and I have low drama, high confidence. That’s the goal,” Garrison said.
The Republican leaders sidestepped when asked how they would work with former U.S. Rep. David Jolly if he becomes the state’s first Democratic governor in three decades.
Instead, they focused entirely on electing Republican nominee Byron Donalds — and collaborating with the former state legislator if he emerges the victor in the race to succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“Our job is to make Byron Donalds the most successful governor in America,” Garrison said, adding there is “zero daylight” between Republican legislative leaders and Donalds’ campaign.
Boyd, who served alongside Donalds in the state House for two years, said he is “very excited” to have Donalds as the state’s next governor.
He praised the candidate backed by President Donald Trump as “very effective, very articulate,” adding that Donalds “understood the issues very well” and “worked with all of us as a freshman.”
“When he picked up the microphone, it was well thought out and well delivered. He had something to say,” Boyd recalled.
The incoming Senate president tied Donalds to the GOP’s priorities, saying he “cares about affordability, he cares about education, he cares about family freedoms.”
After two years of friction between House and Senate leaders, Boyd and Garrison outlined a legislative reset rooted in mutual respect and good humor.
“I could not have picked a better partner if I’d have drawn one up on the drawing board,” Boyd said, adding that politics doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game.
Garrison recalled his first visit to the House gallery around 2017 when he watched Boyd present an insurance bill.
“I just thought to myself at the time, man, this guy’s good,” he said.
Garrison summed up their approach as “low drama, high confidence,” while Boyd said lawmakers “have to work together” to accomplish their goals.
“I don't believe we were elected and sent to Tallahassee to fight with each other. I believe we were elected to go up and serve our communities, and the only way we can do it effectively is working together,” Boyd said.
Such cooperation includes Democrats, he added.
“We both try to work with our colleagues in the other party as well. They got elected like we did in their communities, and their voice has meaning in our conversations,” Boyd said.
The leaders addressed Amendment 3, a proposed constitutional amendment placed on the ballot by the Legislature. If approved by 60 percent of voters, the measure would raise the homestead exemption for local government taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028 and would be adjusted for inflation after that.
DeSantis has suggested lawmakers should return to Tallahassee before he leaves office in January to pass legislation enacting the proposal, if it passes.
But the leaders appeared skeptical that immediate action would be necessary.
Boyd said much of what was included in the proposal was “self-executing” that could require additional statutory requirements.
“Personally, I believe that it can wait until we reconvene in January. I think the new administration ought to have a say in that, so we’ll play that by ear and see what develops and what we need to do should it pass in November,” he said.
The amendment, if approved by voters, “will dominate the upcoming session,” Garrison predicted.
When asked if lawmakers could convene for any other special sessions before DeSantis leaves office in January, Garrison demurred.
“Whether it’s a great night for Republicans or not a great night, these elections have a way of resetting expectations and resetting priorities, and so I look at it as a clean slate,” Garrison said. “On Wednesday morning, we'll wake up and assess what the voters have told us, and figure out a way forward. Whether that involves special session, regular session, I mean, I got 99 problems right now, and that ain’t one.”
Dara Kam is the senior Statehouse reporter for State Affairs Florida. Reach her at dkam@stateaffairs.com or on X @TheDaraKam.
