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Bracy Davis, Young win Orange County special elections
Democrats LaVon Bracy Davis and RaShon Young won special elections for Senate District 15 and House District 40, respectively.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Democrats LaVon Bracy Davis and RaShon Young won their special elections in Orange County on Tuesday, for Senate District 15 and House District 40, respectively. Each captured more than 70% of the vote.
Bracy Davis, D-Ocoee, defeated Republican Willie Montague with about 72.6% in the Senate District 15 race, according to unofficial results from the Orange County supervisor of elections. She will succeed the late Sen. Geraldine Thompson, a Democrat who died in February.
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In House District 40, Young secured roughly 75% of the vote over Republican Tuan Le. The seat became vacant after Bracy Davis launched her Senate bid.
What they're saying:
Pointing to the wide margin of victory, Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said the elections show voter dissatisfaction with the state’s Republican leadership, adding that Floridians are frustrated with "political posturing, wasteful spending, and the never-ending culture wars" affecting healthcare, schools, and insurance costs.
"Senator-elect LaVon Bracy Davis and Representative-elect RaShon Young are true community advocates," said Fried in a congratulatory statement. "They care about and are ready to fight for what Central Floridians care about most: lower costs of living, safer communities, and change driven by and for the people."
"It was tedious. I had a tough primary, but I’m grateful. To the voters. To the people. I’m grateful for the work that Sen. Thompson has done and for the trail that she has blazed that I will walk through," Bracy Davis said.
"It is not always party politics. You have to work across the aisle to get things done and get those relationships, which I have," said Young. "You don’t have to combat your moral obligations or ethical values to get stuff done."
Dig deeper:
Democrats credited their grassroots efforts for the wins, noting more than 37,000 direct voter contact attempts and nearly 10,000 re-enrollments for vote-by-mail. Fried emphasized that these results stem from year-round organizing, coalition-building, and volunteer-driven momentum.
House Dist. 40 results can be found here, while results for the Senate Dist. 15 race can be found here.
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The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the Florida Department of State Division of Elections.