DeSantis criticizes Republican who lost Tampa Senate special election

TALLAHASSEE — After a well-financed Republican candidate lost the race for a Tampa state Senate seat last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday defended his decision to not get involved in the election.

Democrat Brian Nathan defeated Republican Josie Tomkow in the special election by just over 400 votes, despite a higher number of Republicans voting compared to Democrats.

“That’s just kind of the way the cookie crumbles,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis seemingly blamed Tomkow for the loss, noting that he won the district handily in his race for governor and that former Sen. Jay Collins also secured a solid win in 2022.




https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/elections/2026/03/31/florida-tampa-hillsborough-special-election-desantis-josie-tomkow/