Democrats in Palm Beach County are breathing a sigh of relief after victories in local and state elections on Tuesday, despite a growing number of registered Republicans in the county.
Florida's third-largest county increased its share of Democratic turnout by nearly 20 percentage points during the 2026 midterm election, compared to the 2022 midterm, unofficial results show. That year, a Republican governor won the county — an unheard-of feat in the once-Democratic stronghold.
In this year's election, roughly 73% of Democratic voters in the county cast a ballot, compared to only 55% in 2022, according to unofficial results. Republican turnout declined only slightly between both midterms: 66% in 2022, to 64% in 2026.
Non-party affiliation voters also increased their turnout share — from 42% to 55%.
This year's turnout benefitted Democrats, flipping: a statehouse seat held by a MAGA-nicknamed politician; the post of a controversial, Trump-endorsed county commissioner; and the clerk of court position formerly held by a scandal-plagued ex-GOP representative.
Not to mention, county voters helped wrestle the 22nd congressional district seat into Democratic control, with candidate Pia Dandiya, and helped keep the 25th district in the hands of Democratic incumbent Rep. Jared Moskowitz.
" People are just tired. They want their government to work, and it hasn't worked the last two years," influential Palm Beach County Tax Collector Anne Gannon, a Democrat, said.
She said national concerns about affordability in housing, groceries and gas prices hit home, as the county has become increasingly expensive.
Carl Cascio, chairman of the Palm Beach County Republican Party, largely agreed.
" The whole atmosphere, political and economic atmosphere in the country was one that didn't favor Republicans in this cycle," he said.
"When you're in charge of the presidency and both houses, people wanna see problems solved," Cascio said. "And they obviously didn't see that."
READ MORE: Florida approves Amendment 3 tax cut. A win for homeowners. A warning about government services
As of Wednesday morning, vote counts indicate that GOP state Rep. Megan Weinberger — nicknamed "MAGA Meg" and an architect behind renaming the county's airport after President Trump — lost by less than two points to Democratic challenger, Elizabeth Holmes on Tuesday night.
Holmes, a public school teacher, ran a youth-led campaign and focused on lowering costs and protecting public schools, according to her campaign page.
Cascio estimates that the polling places changed due to flooding played a part in depressed turnout for Weinberger.
" She lost votes because of that, I believe," he said.
Another Trump-endorsed local official, District 6 Commissioner Sara Baxter, lost her re-election bid. She was the subject of heavy criticism over her actions around the artificial intelligence data center, Project Tango, and controversial spending of tax dollars.
After Baxter had survived a tough primary over the summer, her Republican challenger didn't endorse her.
The clerk of circuit court and comptroller position also went to Democrats.
This came after the former clerk, Mike Caruso, a former Republican state representative, was arrested on child sex abuse charges and was suspended from his post in August. He has pleaded not guilty and refused to withdraw from the race.
Caruso lost on Tuesday night, according to the unofficial results. They show Yvette Drucker, a Boca Raton city council member, winning by 24 points.
Some losses for local Democrats
However, it wasn't all sunshine and roses for Palm Beach County Democrats.
Emily Gregory, who won a special election for a statehouse seat that included Trump's Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, on Palm Beach, lost her seat on Tuesday night by roughly 1,000 votes.
Republican Jon Maples " flipped it back to where it should be," according to Jodi Schwartz, the Republican state committeewoman for Palm Beach County.
Schwartz said she was "disappointed" by GOP turnout in the county, but said the Democrats shouldn't be too comfortable.
" I don't think that they should be celebrating too much. We are still very strong in Palm Beach County," she said. "It's the long game."
Recent projections had worried county Democrats about Republicans overtaking them in voter registration soon. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis won the county in 2022.
The county's Republican party narrowed the registration gap from the tens of thousands to the thousands, according to Cascio.
" I think that the people of Palm Beach County were absolutely gobsmacked when the county turned basically red," said Mindy Koch, the former chairwoman of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party.
Koch celebrated how state Democrats pierced the legislative supermajority on Tuesday.
" It wasn't a little bit bluer, it's a lot bluer," Koch said. " Now, at least we have a voice."
Florida values
Cascio said Palm Beach voters think about their pocketbooks: it's why they voted in favor of Amendment 3, which will massively cut property taxes and imperil steady funding for local governments.
According to Schwartz, statewide wins by Republicans — for governor, attorney general, agriculture commissioner, chief financial officer and U.S. senate — tell a different story than the one Palm Beach County Democrats are telling themselves.
"We're still gonna conduct politics the way that we should with the values of Florida," Schwartz said.
" Especially after the national elections yesterday," she said, of Florida: "We're the last one standing."
