Florida Republicans lost their veto-proof majority in the state Senate Tuesday night. The GOP will control 26 of the 40 Senate seats now, down from 28.
Republicans Dorothy Hukill and Aaron Bean cruised to victory in two of the state's highest-profile Senate races, but Democrat Maria Sachs beat Republican Ellyn Bogdanoff in a fiercely contested battle of incumbents in South Florida.
State Democratic Party chair Rod Smith said the loss of the GOP's super-majority is incredibly important.
"It allows us to block things proceduraly and to make sure they're no longer veto-proof and all that, and also put together coalitions that will oppose what I think was the worst of the changes last time that the governor wanted", Smith said. " I think the governor and the Republican leaders were handed a pretty big defeat tonight."
Incoming Senate President Don Gaetz, a Niceville Republican, agreed that being short of a two-thirds majority can be important for procedural reasons.
But Gaetz pointed to "fresh, bold ideas" that won elections for Republican candidates.
"What happened in this election cycle was that tens of thousands of independents and Democrats crossed the line and voted for Republican senators because, I think, we had better candidates with compelling ideas," said Gaetz. "So we will have 26 members in a 40-member Senate – an overwhelming majority."
Republicans will continue to hold large majorities in the House and Senate after Tuesday's elections.