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A Democratic Electrician Nabs a State Senate Seat in Republican Florida
With Brian Nathan’s victory certified, Democrats won two of three state legislative races in this month’s special elections, all in Republican-leaning districts.
David W. Chen
By David W. Chen
March 30, 2026Updated 4:45 p.m. ET
Democrats on Monday officially claimed a second upset in Florida’s recent special elections when The Associated Press declared an electrical workers union leader to be the winner of a tight state senate contest in reliably Republican West Tampa.
Brian Nathan, a Navy veteran and member of a new cadre of working class Democrats, will join Emily Gregory, a small-business owner with a public-health background, as upstart Democrats in Tallahassee. Ms. Gregory on Tuesday won a state house district in Palm Beach that includes President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago seaside mansion.
The upsets supplied the latest electoral boost to a party that suffered setbacks in 2024 in Washington, D.C., and in state capitols across the country but is staging a comeback.
Mr. Nathan, 45, is one of many blue-collar Democrats and anti-Republican independents vying for U.S. House and Senate seats, as well as state legislative posts. Those include Bob Brooks, a retired firefighter, and Brian Poindexter, a union ironworker, who are running for House seats in Pennsylvania and Ohio; Graham Platner, an oysterman, and Dan Osborn, an industrial electrician, running for the Senate in Maine and Nebraska; and Sam Forstag, a smokejumper and union leader, who is vying for the Democratic nomination for a House seat in Montana.