‘GOP is bracing’: Republicans expect big blow in Trump’s home state

Republicans have started to sense a potential loss in Miami, where a Democrat and a Republican backed by President Donald Trump will face off next week.

The Dec. 9 runoff between former County Commissioner and Democrat Eileen Higgins against former Miami City Manager and Republican Emilio Gonzalez has Republicans worried, Politico reported Thursday.

"The GOP is bracing for a possible loss in one of the state’s remaining blue areas — but in an office Republicans have held for nearly 30 years," according to the outlet. "It would come as a blow in a state President Donald Trump calls home, and in a city where he plans to build his future presidential library."

“It’s a tough district,” Evan Power, chair of the Republican Party of Florida, told Politico.

Power called Miami the "Kamala district." In the 2024 election, Trump lost the city of Miami to former Vice President Kamala Harris, "even as he won the far more populous surrounding county by 11 points," according to the outlet.

“My expectation is, it probably doesn’t perform for Republicans, but we have to do what we have to do, fight in every place,” Power said.

The election comes a week after a special election in Tennessee that put pressure on Republicans to secure a House seat in the deep-red state that the president had previously won by 22 points in the 2024 election.

On Tuesday, Republican Matt Van Epps, a Trump-endorsed military veteran, beat Democrat Aftyn Behn in the special election for the Tennessee 7th Congressional District seat. Van Epps won the election by 9 points. Some election experts have said that the result is a sign of the momentum Democrats have as the 2026 midterm elections approach and could be a significant sign of what's to come.