GOP leader tries to laugh off major Mar-a-Lago bruising — with claim that shuns evidence

Matt Laslo
Wed, 25 Mar 2026 17:04:46 +0000
Donald trump, Democratic party, Mar-a-lago

A shock victory in a Florida election is being seen as a massive blow to the Republican Party ahead of the midterms — but a leading Republican is shrugging it off.

In fact, Majority Leader of the House of Representatives Steve Scalise bucked widely held beliefs — and claimed his party will be flipping seats in December.

Donald Trump's administration was dealt an embarrassing blow as the Democratic Party flipped the Florida state House seat that contains Mar-a-Lago Tuesday. Winning candidate Emily Gregory took the Florida District 87 state House seat with 51 percent to 49 percent, a margin of just over 750 votes.

Speaking to Raw Story about the reason for the swing to Democratic Party, Scalise suggested it was merely a case of low voter turnout. He said, "Now, special elections are always unique because they're very low turnout.

"You know, surely you look at those and see there are things we can learn and improve upon when the big election comes."

Scalise went on to suggest there had been less focus on the special election in Trump's backyard as the GOP had a larger stake in success at the midterm elections. He said, "And obviously, November is the election that we are focused on. We've still got primaries to go through in a lot of states. There are runoffs in Texas. There's always going to be elections, but the big election is going to be the November midterm.

"And we're laser-focused on that and not only holding the House, but the opportunity to grow our majority. We've got some real opportunities in a number of districts to actually flip more seats from Democrat to Republican, and that's our focus."

The Mar-a-Lago seat flip in the historically red seat shocked pundits, and CNN expert Harry Enten said it was likely a sign of things to come for the GOP.

"What is happening right now in Mar-a-Lago is unlikely to stay a Mar-a-Lago. It is likely to expand nationwide and to expand in the midterm elections as well," he said.

The Mar-a-Lago loss could precede the largest GOP midterm loss in 100 years, according to analysis from The Daily Beast. Martha McHardy wrote, "Historically, the largest House losses include Democrats losing 116 seats in 1894, Republicans losing 77 in 1922, and Democrats losing 72 in 1938, with other notable losses in 1974 and 2010.

"By comparison, the Democrats’ 41‑seat gain in 2018—the largest in 44 years—was still well below 70."