With election results in, Republicans appear to take control of the House while the Senate is still up in the air. Florida, a state that decidedly voted for Trump in 2020, was under the microscope heading into the 2022 midterm election. However, when it was all said and done, Democrats faced tough losses in election races across the state.
Florida Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D) was defeated in the race for Florida’s 37th district.
So proud of the authentic campaign we ran for #HD37! Thanks to over 300+ #TeamCarlos volunteers, we knocked on over 19K doors, made over 25K calls and sent 500K+ texts to voters!
We left it all on the field.
Most of all, we gave people hope for a Florida we can be proud of. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/LL9a5U5ywg
— Rep. Carlos G Smith (@CarlosGSmith) November 9, 2022
On social media, the Florida Democrat thanked his supporters, saying that they “knocked on over 19K doors, made over 25K calls and sent 500K+ texts to voters.” After winning the House seat in 2016 with 69% of the vote and then winning reelection in 2018 with 64% of the vote, Guillermo Smith was defeated by Republican Susan Plasencia, a small business owner.
Though Democrats did win House races in Florida, the wins are significantly lower than the GOP wins, which are 20 House seats compared to the 6 won by Democrats.
Anna Paulina Luna (R) will be replacing Florida Rep. Charlie Crist (D), who resigned from his seat in district 13, and Democrat Maxwell Alejandro Frost, the former national organizing director for March for Our Lives, and the first “Gen-Z” politician will be replacing Florida Rep. Val Demings’ (D) seat in House district 10.
Demings, who decidedly lost to Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R), shared some comments with supporters in conceding the race.
"In the coming years, American democracy... will be tested. This is going to be the great challenge of our lives. Possibly one of the greatest challenges of our nation has ever faced. But I am here tonight to tell you that, yes, even tonight, I still believe in America, and I still believe in our democracy, so I also know we still have a long way to go before we fulfill the ultimate promise of America. That's why I ran for the Senate, because we can never stop striving," Demings told her supporters.
