In special elections held in New Hampshire and Florida on Tuesday, two Democrats—both women—won state seats previously held by Republicans.
Annette Taddeo swept against State Rep. Jose Felix Diaz in Miami’s District 40, where President Donald Trump lost by 16 points to Hillary Clinton.
Taddeo replaces Sen. Frank Artiles, who resigned in the spring after he made racist comments about his black colleagues and hired “unqualified young women” as campaign workers, the Miami Herald reported.
“The voters wanted a champion in Tallahassee who will fight for higher paying jobs, affordable healthcare, and fully funded public schools, and I am honored and humbled that they have placed their faith and trust in me,” Taddeo said in a statement.
She is now the 16th Democrat among 40 Republicans in the Florida Senate.
Kari Lerner won the Democrat seat in a “surprising upset” in Rockingham County, New Hampshire—a district where “Republicans have a 2-1 advantage,” WMUR9 reported. She won by just 39 more votes than her opponent, Republican former state Rep. James Headd, who served in the House from 2002 to 2012.
“There’s something happening in this state and all across this country when the deepest red districts in New Hampshire are consistently turning royal blue,” New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley told WMUR. “This, our hardest-won victory so far, is the latest proof that voters are showing up when it matters to reject the dangerous and divisive agenda of Donald Trump and Chris Sununu.”
Since Trump’s election, Democrats have flipped eight GOP-held state seats, while Republicans have flipped none, the Hill reported.
H/T Jezebel