Democrats don’t expect to win the special elections coming up in early 2025. But they see them as a way to rebuild enthusiasm that flushed to zero at the end of 2024 — if they can just get past lingering resignation over Donald Trump’s revival.
“These special elections are happening in ruby red districts, but that doesn’t mean that we’re going to sit around and just let Republicans walk into office unopposed,” Eden Giagnorio, a communications director for the Florida Democratic Party, told NOTUS. “But we see this as kind of playing the long game, you know. We’re going to use these social elections to organize for the future and rebuild.”
Democratic candidates are already vying for a primary win in Florida’s 6th district, where Mike Waltz was tapped as Trump’s national security adviser. In upstate New York’s 21st District, no Democratic primary has officially kicked off, but the seat will be in play if Elise Stefanik is confirmed as Trump’s United Nations ambassador.