Florida Republican Party

The wins came despite an unusual campaign season in which several prominent local Republicans, including two sitting Manatee County commissioners, backed Democratic candidates.

Four districts held by Democrats looked set to flip to the Republican column. Kathy Castor, a Tampa Democrat, and the others were able to fend off challenges.

He said the results could leave the GOP in the doldrums nationwide for many elections.

Earlier, Democrat Angie Nixon held a get-out-the-vote rally with Puerto Ricans in Kissimmee.

"Their most reliable voters have voted. Ours haven't yet," GOP strategist says about how Republicans have traditionally voted on Election Day.

The retreat comes five days after the First District Court of Appeal denied Attorney General James Uthmeier's own emergency bid to block the same ad.

An appeals court ordered a grand jury report about the controversy struck from the court record. The Florida GOP says a Democratic campaign ad targeting AG James Uthmeier illegally broadcasts expunged findings.

With two departing incumbents, a crowded race is heating up to fill three Pasco County School Board seats. Some are veteran teachers, and others have business or political commentator backgrounds.

With the Rays under new ownership led by a major DeSantis and Republican donor, the governor is striking a different tune when it comes to funding sports stadiums.

Defend Florida, a Sarasota-founded election denial group, has seen its political clout collapse as Republican lawmakers distance themselves from its conspiracy-fueled demands for tighter voting rules.

The Republican Party of Florida has sold more than $125,000 in merchandise branded with "Alligator Alcatraz." The state's Democratic Party said the GOP is profiting from people's suffering.

Florida's political leaders urged people to pray following news that conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was shot to death during a campus event in Utah.