Democrat Donna Deegan wins Jacksonville mayoral race, defeating her DeSantis-backed rival

Democrat Donna Deegan pulled off a major upset Tuesday by defeating her Republican challenger in the runoff election for mayor in Jacksonville, Florida.

Deegan got 52% of the vote, according to the associated pressprevailing over Daniel Davis, who was endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), and making history as the first woman elected to office.

Deegan will succeed outgoing Republican Lenny Curry, who had to resign due to term limits.

jacksonville, the 13th largest city in the UShad been the largest city run by a Republican mayor, according to CNN.

“Everybody said it couldn’t be done in Jacksonville, Florida,” Deegan he said after his victory. “We did it because we brought people inside.”

His victory was celebrated by party leaders including Nikki Fried, Florida Democratic party chair.

the contest went to a jump-off race after no candidate obtained 50% of the vote in the first round. Deegan came out on top, but with only 39.4% of the vote.

In a post-win interview Tuesday, Deegan expressed disappointment at the low turnout.

“We are going to involve people in the process and make them feel like they are a part of it, because they are, and I think that will make all the difference in the world.” she told First Coast News.

Deegan, a former local television news anchor, founded a non-profit organization called the DONNA Foundation to support cancer patients and survivors after her own fight against the disease. She is a three time breast cancer survivor.

Davis had tried to portray Deegan as radical, airing an attack ad focused on his attendance at Black Lives Matter rallies following the death of George Floyd and claiming he wanted to defund the police.

Deegan hit back and told him News4JAX that the ad was “racially insensitive”. He noted that outgoing Republican Mayor Curry, then-City Sheriff Mike Williams and current Sheriff TK Waters also joined a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020.

She insisted that she is “very pro-police.”

“I think we need to make sure that we’re taking care of our police officers and I want to make sure that we’re taking care of our community,” Deegan told the outlet.

DeSantis endorsed Davis, director of the city’s Chamber of Commerce, as “the proven law-and-order conservative Jacksonville needs to tackle the city’s greatest challenges and seize its greatest opportunities.”

An image of the two hands shaking hands also stands out in Davis campaign websitebut the governor reportedly did not attend any campaign events for the Republican nominee, according to NBC News.

In the November midterm elections, DeSantis won duval countywhich includes Jacksonville, by 12 percentage points, a smaller margin than his 20-point state win over Democrat Charlie Crist.

In the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden became the first Democrat to carry Duval County since 1976.