Hilary Holley Defeats Edwin Perez in HD 51 Special Election

Hilary Holley Defeats Edwin Perez in HD 51 Special Election

Holley becomes another Republican to join House

Michael Costeines
Michael Costeines
March 24, 2026

Republican Hilary Holley defeated Democrat Edwin Perez to win the House District 51 special election on Tuesday night.

Below is the result with 95% ballots reporting (per 27otowin):

Hilary Holley - 54.8%

Edwin Perez - 45.2%

HD 87 covers part of Polk County in Central Florida. The district was previously represented by Josie Tomkow, who won the seat by nearly 14 points in 2024.

"Congratulations Representative-elect @HilaryHolley!" the Florida GOP wrote. "Polk County voters chose a strong conservative leader to represent them in Tallahassee. Proud to keep HD-51 RED!"

 

Notably, President Donald Trump won the district by 14 points over Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

Holley had been endorsed by several Republican officials in the race, including Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, Reps. Jon Albert and Jennifer Kincart Jonsson (R-Frostproof), U.S. Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL), and Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.

 

Michael Costeines

Michael Costeines

Michael Costeines: Florida Political Correspondent/Capitol Reporter for The Floridian (2024-Present) Over 1000 stories written covering Gov. Gon DeSantis, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, the Florida GOP, State Legislature, and others Shared by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the White House, Florida GOP Chairman Evan Power, James Uthmeier and others

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