Jane MusgraveA tale of three failed campaigns features Trump, data centers and, in one case, accusations of corruption.
“Politics has become so expensive that it takes a lot of money even to be defeated.” — Humorist Will Rogers
Trump loyalist Meg Weinberger amassed $1.2 million in her campaign war chest and lost her Florida House seat to political newcomer Elizabeth Holmes, a Palm Beach Gardens special education teacher who raised $53,000.
Palm Beach County Mayor Sara Baxter, also endorsed by President Donald Trump, collected more than $600,000, twice as much as her Democratic opponent, Katherine Waldron, who pummeled her at the polls.
Well-heeled Republican Anne Gerwig suffered a similar fate. Despite banking nearly $491,000, four times as much as her Democratic opponent, the former Wellington mayor lost her state House seat to a political unknown, lawyer August Mangeney, by 12 points.
The stunning defeat of the three western Palm Beach County political powerhouses shattered long-held axioms that money wins elections and incumbents can’t be beaten.
Their fates also were an oddity in an election that saw the county — and Florida — defy the blue wave that swept the nation by instead returning Republicans to office and throwing Democrats to the curb.
But, like elsewhere in the nation, there is evidence that Trump, a controversial data center and government corruption loomed large on the minds of the Wellington, Loxahatchee, Royal Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens voters who refused to return the three women to office.
Like many political observers, Jorge Garrido, founder and chairman of the right-leaning Hispanic Vote, said it’s no mystery why Baxter lost to Waldron, a former state representative who also served on the Port of Palm Beach Commission.
“There was such an intense dislike of her at the grassroots level,” Garrido said. “Frankly, I’m surprised she only lost by 17 points.”
Appalled by what he called Baxter’s self-serving behavior since she was elected to represent District 6 in 2022, his organization worked hard to defeat her.
“We made sure every Hispanic voter in the district knew what she did. We got into churches and congregations,” he said. “I called other Republicans and told them you need to distance yourself from Baxter.”
In conversations and text messages, he talked about the late-night helicopter ride she took aboard a sheriff’s helicopter at taxpayer expense. He reminded them that she and her husband watched the national collegiate football championship game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens from a skybox owned by megadeveloper Stephen Ross, who had business before the commission and contributed heavily to Baxter’s campaign
Garrido also mentioned her use of $10,700 in campaign cash on overnight stays at The Breakers and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood. Days before the August primary, a former aide said Baxter pressured her to do sexual favors for a wealthy and influential supporter.
Baxter promised to reimburse Ross for the football game and claimed the helicopter ride was for security to determine how long it would take choppers to reach commissioners’ houses. No other commissioners made similar trips. She never explained her campaign spending.
Garrido was unmoved by Baxter’s explanations.
“It’s time to retire Sara Baxter,” read one of his texts. “Enough is enough.”
Weinberger initiated airport’s renaming
While neither Weinberger nor Gerwig had any ethical baggage, some voters undoubtedly lumped the three Republicans together, he said.
Like Baxter, Weinberger made no secret of her love for Trump, wearing her nickname, “MAGA Meg,” proudly.
She filed the bill that put Trump’s name on Palm Beach International Airport and co-sponsored a bill that renamed a 4-mile stretch of Southern Boulevard in his honor.
In many voters’ minds, Baxter and Weinberger, who sources say were political enemies, were linked.
“I think Baxter hurt Meg,” Garrido said, adding that his group endorsed Weinberger. “Meg tried to distance herself from Sara, but she was handcuffed because of the connection to Trump.”
While Gerwig didn’t have Trump’s backing, she was endorsed by now Gov.-elect Byron Donalds. A staunch supporter of the president, Donalds was joined by Trump at major campaign events leading up to the election.
Further, all three represent communities that are inflamed about plans for a data center on 202 acres on Southern Boulevard at 20-Mile Bend. Trump has said that local communities should “want as many data centers” as they can get.
The expansion of the proposed AI hyperscale Project Tango data center site, rejected by county commissioners in July, exploded back into the news two weeks ago when Stet reported that county planners approved changes to the site plan that would triple the amount of space devoted to a data center.
Residents said they were appalled by what appeared to be a backroom deal. Many likely blamed the three Republicans, particularly Baxter, for not protecting them from the center that they fear will drive up utility costs, deplete water supplies and disturb their quiet lives.
That likely drove many to the polls, Garrido said.
Baxter added stays at two more luxury hotels
Others aren’t as certain that the data center was a factor in even Baxter’s defeat.
Former County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay said her successor’s ethical lapses were her undoing.
“She was living this luxury life on the public dime, or at least the public contributions’ dime,” said McKinlay, a Democrat who works as vice president of government relations for engineering firm WGI Inc. “It just turned people off. Baxter dug her own grave.”
Even after Stet detailed that Baxter spent money from her political committee on lodging at The Breakers and Hard Rock hotels, she spent more. Campaign disclosures show that she spent $1,414 for lodging on Sept. 13 at the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach and $1,260 on lodging at The Breakers on Oct. 10, both less than 20 miles from her home.
While Baxter didn’t return a text for comment, she likely realized defeat was a possibility.
Polls consistently showed Waldron holding a double-digit lead. After the primary, contributions, and her spending, slowed.
She has $90,000 left of the $398,829 that was contributed to her state political committee. In committee documents, she said the extra money would be given to other political committees, candidates or “as otherwise provided by law.”
Before the election, Waldron acknowledged she couldn’t outraise or outspend Baxter. But, she said, she believed Baxter was vulnerable.
Many district residents told her that Baxter didn’t listen to them or care about their concerns. McKinlay said she heard the same complaints.
“She was ingratiating herself instead of working for her constituents,” McKinlay said. “She didn’t deserve to be reelected.”
She said she didn’t know why Weinberger was defeated in her District 94 reelection bid. McKinlay said she suspects independent voters supported Holmes, which was enough to give the 43-year-old county native a two-point victory over Weinberger.
“Independent voters were pulling left,” she said. “That carried Elizabeth Holmes across the finish line.”
Gauging the influence of the Democratic wave
That might not have been true across the county.
While still crunching the numbers, Republican Commissioner Marci Woodward said independent voters may have been a factor in her narrow defeat of Democratic challenger Curtis Calabrese in her Boca Raton-area district. But, she said, little is clear-cut.
She said she had crossover votes from Democrats and he picked up Republican votes.
“Truthfully, south county voters are less likely to hold the party line in either direction,” she said in a text.
Additionally, Republican Jon Maples scored a narrow defeat over Democratic incumbent Emily Gregory for a state House seat, just eight months after Gregory bested Maples in a special election to fill the seat, which includes Trump’s Mar-a-Lago.
Although they didn’t share political parties, McKinlay said Weinberger was a good partner. They often worked together to bring much-needed help to the impoverished Glades area, which they both represented.
“Whenever I called her, she said, ‘What do you need and what can I do to help?’” McKinlay said.
Still, she said she has heard good things about Holmes and is eager to meet her.
The outcome of the Gerwig race, McKinlay and others said, isn’t that surprising. District 93 is almost evenly divided politically with about 39,000 Democrats, 37,000 Republicans and 35,000 registered as independents or with minor parties.
Waldron was elected to represent the newly redrawn and renamed district in 2022. She was defeated by Gerwig by 348 votes in 2024. Under its old name and boundaries, it had been represented by Democrats.
Mangeney, who once served as a legislative aide to then-state Sen. Maria Sachs, beat Gerwig handily, which observers called somewhat surprising. But, in some ways, McKinlay said, it appears the district returned to its historical roots.
Overall, Garrido said he was happy with the results of the election.
Baxter’s defeat should empower voters, he said. She received hefty campaign donations from businesses, business leaders and chambers of commerce.
“Her campaign was a perfect example of political hubris and the political elites thinking they could control everything,” he said.
