Kiyan Michael, the incumbent Republican representing Florida House District 16, was reelected to the position for her second term. 

This election was Michael’s first time facing a Democratic opponent for the seat covering the Beaches, East Arlington and the intracoastal communities. 

Michael has been a key ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Florida House. In 2022 he endorsed her run for the seat, and she had worked with him as an advocate on immigration issues since 2019.

She has attributed her focus on immigration enforcement to her son Brandon, who died in a 2007 car crash involving a man who immigrated to the U.S. illegally. 

Michael was one of the legislators who received money from A Stronger Florida, a political action committee working as a passthrough for school bus camera vendor BusPatrol, according to The Tributary’s past reporting. 

Florida House District 16 is one of Duval County’s most conservative areas. About 65% of the district voted for DeSantis in 2022, and in 2020, about 57% voted for President Donald Trump. 

Michael beat Democrat Rachel Grage. Grage moved to Florida in 2019 and became involved with the St. Johns County Democratic Party before relocating to Jacksonville Beach.

As of 9 p.m., Michael won around 60% of the vote.

You can see full results of all Florida House races below.

Bea Lunardini was an Investigative Reporting Fellow at The Tributary. She has previously covered crime and courts in Georgia, Texas and Florida. She is a senior journalism student at the University of Florida. In her free time, she reads voraciously and enjoys baking.