In two Florida legislative races impacting Palm Beach County residents north of Southern Blvd., incumbent Gayle Harrell of Stuart held the District 31 seat in the Florida Senate and newcomer Meg Weinberger of Palm Beach Gardens took the District 94 seat in the Florida House to replace term-limited State Rep. Rick Roth.
Both Republican women said they may have benefited from the strong, statewide showing of former and future President Donald Trump, who carried the state with 56 percent of the vote. But Weinberger and Harrell agreed that while Trump’s coattails may have influenced the size of their victories, they did not determine the outcome.
Weinberger defeated Democrat Rachelle Litt, a former mayor of Palm Beach Gardens. Weinberger took 53,063 votes (55.1 percent) to 43,247 votes (44.9 percent) for Litt.
“If there were coattails, I’ll take them,” said Weinberger, who is listed as the county chair for the conservative advocacy group Moms for Liberty. “I’m grateful to have had his support.”
Weinberger leaned heavily on Trump’s endorsement during a four-way primary race over the summer but downplayed the connection in her well-funded media campaign for the general election.
“I feel like it was more of a grassroots thing… getting out in front of the people, talking to people,” said Weinberger, an animal rescue advocate who often campaigned on horseback. “I just did what I love to do.”
Harrell, 81, bested Democrat Aaron Hawkins, also a Stuart resident. Harrell took 199,854 votes (61.48 percent) to 125,203 votes (38.52 percent) for Hawkins.
“Certainly, I’m happy and very pleased to have won,” said Harrell, who served in the Florida House from 2000 to 2008 and again from 2010 to 2018. She has been in the Florida Senate since 2018. “Fortunately, I have a broad base of support and get a lot of crossover votes. I think lot of people appreciate the work I’ve done to protect our state parks.”
Harrell’s district encompasses Martin County, parts of southern St. Lucie County and most of northern and western Palm Beach County, all the way to Lake Okeechobee.
Locally, that area includes Royal Palm Beach, The Acreage, Loxahatchee, Loxahatchee Groves, Westlake, Arden and western Palm Beach Gardens.
“Maybe if I had started my campaign earlier… and given Democrats and independents more time to get to know me,” Hawkins said this week. “But Harrell is a longtime incumbent, fairly well established. She knows how to play the game.”
Hawkins, 26, with long family ties to Martin County, said his youth “helped me more than it hurt me. A lot of people were open to someone new… This is not the last time people will hear about me.”
The district that Weinberger now represents includes The Acreage, Loxahatchee, Loxahatchee Groves, Westlake, parts of Royal Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens, and all of western Palm Beach County.
“While the election did not go as I had hoped,” Litt said this week, “I am proud of the fact that we ran a race based on truth, integrity and respect. I will continue to advocate for and work toward a united Florida that values personal rights, civil liberties, truth, justice and the prosperity of all residents.”
Weinberger is proud of her victory and looks to the future.
“I didn’t pay that much attention to the negatives,” she said. “I stayed focused on the goal. I was floored by how many amazing people came out for me — so many amazing patriots.”
