Defeated Kim Daniels challenger demands 2026 rematch

The House District 14 Democratic Primary race had little in the way of suspense on Tuesday. But it appears to be headed toward a sequel all the same.

Rep. Kim Daniels, an evangelist by trade who often finds herself at odds with the mainstream of her party on social issues, overpowered Lloyd Caulker and Therese V. Wakefield-Gamble.

Daniels got 64% in the three-person contest, winning all but one precinct, where Wakefield-Gamble won 2 votes to 1.

Yet despite what appeared to be a decisive mandate for Daniels in this year’s Democratic Primary, Wakefield-Gamble is telling supporters she is running again in 2026, and will be doing the “groundwork” for her next campaign until then.

“I was underestimated because I did not follow the traditional rules and process of a political campaign,” Wakefield-Gamble said. “I may have lost this Primary Election, but I will continue to fight.”

She said Daniels “can be defeated” in two years, claiming the Democratic incumbent used “legal shenanigans to confuse voters” while engaging “Republican allies” to help her win the closed Primary.

Wakefield-Gamble also said voters in the district must hold Daniels accountable and “demand growth” in HD 14, saying “low-information voters” needed to educate themselves.

Wakefield-Gamble, a 53-year-old entrepreneur and grandmother from the Northside of Jacksonville was endorsed by Florida Planned Parenthood PAC, the Florida Democratic Party’s “American Muslim Caucus,” the 90 for 90 group, and Democratic House candidate Ben Sandlin, who will be on the November ballot against Rep. Wyman Duggan.

Daniels is in the middle of her third term in the House. She was originally elected to serve HD 14 in 2016, was re-elected in 2018, and lost in 2020’s Democratic Primary to current Rep. Angie Nixon. After Nixon was moved to House District 13 during 2022’s redistricting, Daniels won a four-way Primary to return to Tallahassee.

Daniels is set to face write-in candidate Briana Hughes in November.