Debbie Mayfield to return to Senate after SD 19 Special Election victory

Debbie Mayfield. Image via Florida House.

Debbie Mayfield is heading back to the Senate.

The Indialantic Republican won a Special Election in Senate District 19, defeating Democrat Vance Ahrens.

Unofficial final election results show her winning 37,546 votes, about 54.4% of those cast, to Ahrens’ 31,419 votes, or 44.7%.

“I’m thankful for the trust and confidence the voters of Senate District 19 have placed in me,” Mayfield told Florida Politics. “From qualifying, to the Supreme Court, through a four-way primary, and tonight, we proved that Team Mayfield and our Space Coast community doesn’t back down from a fight. With the support of our district, I’ll fight for property tax relief, lower insurance premiums, and to protect the traditional family values that make America great.”

The victory means Mayfield will fill the vacancy left by now-U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, the Republican who resigned his SD 19 office to run for Congress. Fine won a Special Election in April to replace former U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, who resigned to briefly be President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser.

Mayfield preceded Fine in holding the SD 19 seat, and when she gets sworn in as soon as Wednesday, it will mark what most political observers believe to be the fastest return to the Senate by a former member in state history.

Mayfield had voiced confidence heading into Election Day.

“Florida’s commitment to thoughtful, principled governance has made us the envy of the nation and the 15th-largest economy in the world,” she said. “I look forward to representing our Space Coast community as a conservative voice in the Florida Senate.”

The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) cheered Mayfield’s win, as well as victories by Nathan Boyles and Brian Hodgers in Special Elections held respectively in House Districts 3 and 32.

“These wins are a testament to strong candidates, hard work on the ground, and the clear momentum behind our conservative message. Nathan Boyles, Brian Hodgers, and Debbie Mayfield ran smart, disciplined campaigns – and Floridians responded,” said RPOF Chairman Evan Power.

“Tonight’s results are just the latest proof that Republicans win in Florida – and Democrats are running out of excuses. The Florida GOP leads the way.”

Ahrens, a transgender activist, sought to overperform in the district, with Trump back in the White House mobilizing Democratic voters. Democrats hoped overperformance in congressional Special Elections in April could be duplicated again Tuesday night.

At the same time, the massive money that poured into races in Florida’s 1st and 6th Congressional Districts never flowed to the same degree to legislative races in SD 19 or to two House races also unfolding Tuesday.

Ahrens’ campaign raised just over $16,000 as of Friday. Through that date, she spent under $10,000. LGBTQ+ groups like LPAC also promoted her candidacy.

But Ahrens focused her campaign on issues beyond her personal identity, instead highlighting state challenges with rising insurance premiums, threats to Florida’s environment and the need to better fund the public school system.

“We have a Special Election, but we don’t have a state budget,” she said. “The government is controlled by Republicans, and they are failing to do their one job. We have no tax holiday for hurricane preparedness, are seeing federal reimbursement cuts. The state is not preparing. I want to work for Brevard.”

Meanwhile, Mayfield’s official campaign spent $169,000 over the course of the race, though as an important caveat, virtually all that money flowed ahead of the April 1 Republican Primary. Thanks to a fundraising ban during the Legislative Session, which was extended through the Special Election, Mayfield hasn’t raised a nickel since winning the GOP nomination, and spent less than $400 from her campaign account from the Primary through Friday.

But Mayfield also controls the Conservatives for Good Government committee, and while it has not had to report on financial activity since March, it did have more than $99,000 in cash on hand as of March 31.

“Voters strongly support my plan to ease the affordability crisis by providing broad-based tax relief,” Mayfield said. “I’ll continue to push for accountability, work to bring down property insurance premiums, and protect the traditional family values that make our nation great.”

The last time Mayfield won election to Senate was in 2022, when she secured re-election without opposition, the only other time she ran under the current district lines. But Mayfield holds a long history with voters on the Space Coast.

Mayfield first won election to the House in 2008, succeeding her late husband, Rep. Stan Mayfield, in his seat. After serving eight years in the lower chamber, she won election to the Senate in 2016, and in the upper chamber served as Majority Leader and Rules Chair before term limits prohibited another run in 2024.

The lawmaker ran for Fine’s open House seat last year, defeating former U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon in a Republican Primary before taking 64% of the vote against Democrat Juan Hinojosa in November.

But her return to the House would be short-lived. When Fine resigned his Senate seat to run for Congress, Mayfield submitted her resignation to run for Senate. As of Monday, she officially left the lower chamber, and cannot return to the job, win or lose.

The biggest fight Mayfield waged this year may not have been against any other candidate for the seat, but against Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration over her very right to run. While many Senators have termed out but returned to the chamber after serving in another office for a stint, Secretary of State Cord Byrd tried to disqualify Mayfield on the grounds she was running for a seat she could not pursue in 2024.

The Florida Supreme Court read the law otherwise and issued a stinging rebuke to Byrd’s Office for both misinterpreting the law and acting beyond its ministerial capacity. Mayfield remained on the ballot and went on to win a four-candidate GOP primary with 61% of the vote.