Republicans exceeded expectations in Florida after winning a hard-fought seat for the Jacksonville City Council, flipping a Democrat seat the late-incumbent won by more than 16-points in 2019.
On Tuesday, Nick Howland, a Republican, was elected to the Jacksonville City Council, defeating Democrat Trayce Polson by over three points (51.7 percent to 48.3 percent) in the runoff election.
Howland will now represent constituents from Duval County – a district won by Joe Biden over Donald Trump in 2020.
According to Howland, his first order of business will be examining the city’s budget and working alongside law enforcement.
Howland succeeds Democrat Tommy Hazouri and will reportedly take office in March.
Hazouri’s seat was left vacant after he died of health complications in Sept. 2021. In December, a special election was held, but none of the candidates running won the required 50 percent threshold, triggering a runoff between Howland and Polson.
Republicans now hold a 14-5 margin over Democrats in the Jacksonville City Council. The GOP victory comes as Joe Biden’s favorability plummets in states across the country.
Nationwide, roughly one-third of Americans approve of Biden and more than one-third of Floridians view him favorably, according to a February Civiqs poll.