Florida Democrats win Jacksonville mayor race, dealing blow to DeSantis

Democrats are projected to flip control of the mayor’s office in Jacksonville, Fla., which is currently the largest city in the country with a GOP leader, according to CNN and NBC.

AP projected that Democrat Donna Deegan defeated Republican Daniel Davis to succeed Mayor Lenny Curry (R), who is term-limited. Deegan, who will be the city’s first female mayor, won against Davis in a runoff Tuesday after the two candidates advanced from a blanket primary earlier this year.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) endorsed Davis in March.

Deegan worked in broadcast journalism as an anchor at First Coast News and created a foundation, called the DONNA Foundation, in 2003 to support medical providers and patients and survivors of breast cancer after her own battles with the disease, according to her campaign website. 

She ran on a platform of improving city infrastructure, increasing access to health care for the city’s residents and bringing businesses to Jacksonville that “want to be part of growing a better, fairer, more inclusive city” and “value our increasing diversity.” 

Curry has served as mayor since winning a narrow election to the office in 2015. He was reelected in 2019 by a comfortable majority.

With Deegan’s victory, Fort Worth, Texas, will become the largest city in the country to have a Republican mayor, according to FiveThirtyEight. Mattie Parker has served Fort Worth (2021 population: 935,508) since 2021.