Let’s go to Mar-a-lago, where Emily Gregory, a small business owner, is running in Florida’s 87th district—the home of Trump’s Mar-a-lago estate. Gregory is a first-time candidate centering her campaign around fighting for Florida’s working families and solving problems with pragmatic policy.
Now, Gregory joins Jen to discuss why she decided that now is the time to run and why she has the ability to flip this red seat blue. Tune in to hear more!
Emily Gregory is a small business owner and public health professional running for the Florida House to flip her West Palm Beach district blue which includes Mar-a-Lago.
This transcript has been edited for formatting purposes.
Jen Rubin
Hi, this is Jen Rubin, editor-in-Chief of The Contrarian. We have talked a lot about first-time candidates, and particularly those who have not been in politics, they’ve had other careers, they’ve done other things. Well, I have with us Emily Gregory. She is a first-time candidate. She is in a special election for an open House, state House seat, the 87th, and she will be going up against a Republican. It is currently held by a Republican, so this would be a flip. Emily, welcome, it’s so nice to meet you.
Emily Gregory
I am so happy to be with you, Jen. It’s great to meet you.
Jen Rubin
Why did you decide to run for election for the first time?
Emily Gregory
Yeah, I get asked that a lot. So, I would say I’ve been noodling on it for some years now. Really, COVID, and the death of George Floyd, and some really, you know. painful chapters in our history. Yes. And… I was, one, waiting for an opportunity I thought I could be the most impactful, two, you know, in our lives, we still have elementary-age children, and waiting for what I thought was the best opportunity. So when I saw that the incumbent, a Republican, was term-limited, I filed back last summer, and then a lot has transpired since then. The incumbent got an appointment.
Coincidentally, I actually met him in person for the first time. It’s municipal elections today, so this morning. I met Mike Caruso, who is now Palm Beach County Clerk. And per our statutes, a special election should have been called immediately. no special election was called. The governor made the appointment, yet never called the special election, so after almost 2 months, my campaign worked with the ACLU and filed a lawsuit on behalf of voters in District 87 to demand that he call an election. He finally did, but yet he still pushed it out months so that the first… the primary was the first date of legislative session. And the general is 2 weeks from today, it’s on the 24th, which is technically after special… I mean, after legislative session was scheduled to end. But it does not look like it will end, because they don’t have a budget. So, the winner of this session, this election may go into regular session, but there’s also been two special sessions called that the winner will… on congressional redistricting. and on property taxes. So, two incredibly important, special sessions that the winner of HD87 will have a voice in.
Jen Rubin: Right? If you had to say what your main impetus, what the main issue is that drives you, what would that be?
Emily Gregory: Fighting for Florida families. I want to see leaders up in Tallahassee fighting for working families, fighting for seniors, fighting for your everyday Floridian. And I see more, leaders in Tallahassee chasing headlines and listening to whispers from special interests, and not solving the affordability crisis, and not solving the skyrocketing property insurance. It is a real crisis in this state. Tens of thousands of Floridians are losing their health insurance, after the ACA tax credits expired. We’re one of only 10 states to not accept a Medicaid expansion. We are at record levels of gutting our public education. So all of these are… have pragmatic solutions, and the average voter, I believe. Wants their leaders focused on tackling these, and not, you know, focused on… prejudicial and attacking legislation against vulnerable communities, and that’s what we see a lot of out of Tallahassee, and I don’t think that’s representing your average Floridian.
Jen Rubin: Absolutely. You mentioned property, insurance and property, purchases and affordability. Because of the weather, because of climate change, of course, the incidence of extreme weather has increased, and so people have been priced out, and insurance companies have left the state. Many people cannot get homeowners insurance. If you can’t get homeowners insurance, you can’t get a loan, you can’t buy a house. So, do you have a sense of how to solve this, or a plan that you want to put forward so that perhaps people can get back to normal in Florida?
Emily Gregory: Yeah, Jen, I do. And what we really need is bold policy solutions, and not, you know, what really equates to gifts to the insurance industry. So, I support a state-backed catastrophic fund, in which the state self-insures against wood mitigation and hurricanes. That would regulate the market and help drive private industry back and, you know, have a more manageable risk pool. A similar proposal from an ally of mine in the State House did it across multiple states, so, like, Tornado Alley and other states. they could pool together. Something like that, which would actually impact the risk pooling, is something I would support. And then also, you know, capping excess rate hikes and taxing excess profits on insurers. So, the insurance companies do need to be held more accountable, and reform is needed there, but we also need to just fundamentally change how we treat hurricanes and, risk pooling in the state. So, those combinations would… we’d see drastic relief And so that’s what we need. We need to fight for those kind of policy solutions.
Jen Rubin: Absolutely. So, what has surprised you the most as a full-time and a first-time candidate? What, either positive or negative, what’s been the biggest surprise?
Emily Gregory: So many things. Every day brings a surprise. I’m surprised how much I love canvassing and knocking on doors. I’ve done it a little bit for campaigns here and there, but, you know, never, like, 5 days a week, like now, and it’s so fun, and especially since the special election has been called, we’ve had you know, the two deaths in Minnesota, we’ve just had really, really dark chapters, again, in Florida history and the nation. And I will say, action is the antidote. When you are out doing something to change the future of Florida. That feels better than just sitting at home, doomscrolling, or watching, you know, the coverage over and over. Go out and make a change. The only way we’re gonna see a different Florida is if we show up, and we show what we believe in, and offer an alternative. So I would say that on the positive, and I could not have imagined how much call time and fundraising. They warn you, but it is shocking.
Jen Rubin: Yes, absolutely, and money in politics is a big problem. Well, your message about getting up and doing something is very consistent with what we tell our contrarians. Last question for you. What would you tell people who maybe are considering, or haven’t considered running, but maybe should? What would you tell them?
Emily Gregory: I say YOLO. You only live once. Do it. I think, look, state and local, I’m really, really passionate about building the bench, and what the things that impact us day-to-day, which is why I chose the State House as the body to run for, it’s what’s impacting my families and my neighbors the most. It’s our day-to-day lives, it’s our public schools, it’s our roads, it’s our property insurance policies, it’s really everything that affects all of our day-to-day lives, and I think it’s so important that different voices start running, and we get off the bench, you know? I feel like it’s time for new voices, women.
Jen Rubin: Yes, that’s right.
Emily Gregory: And I… I think we’re starting to see that. I’ve been really encouraged over the last year, and I think, knock on everything, we’re going to continue to see that, so if anyone has… the ability to support, I would be so grateful in these final two weeks. Whether an hour of phone banking, we have a mobilized Emily Gregory for House District, or a support financially, EmilyGregoryForFlorida.com. We’re in the final stretch, and we really can flip this seat, which is Donald Trump’s State House seat. Which will create a lot of headlines and continue that positive momentum that we so desperately need.
Jen Rubin: Absolutely. Well, friends, in a special election for a House seat, every vote counts, and the margin can be two votes, one vote. So if you are in the district, get out and vote. If you’re interested, Emily has told you how you get in touch with her. Best of luck. We love first-time candidates, we love people who have not been political politicians. And particularly people who understand that what happens close to you is maybe more important sometimes than what happens in Washington, D.C. So thank you so much, Emily. It was a pleasure to meet you, and best of luck in a couple weeks.
Emily Gregory: Thank you so much, this was so fun.
Jen Rubin: Take care, bye-bye.
Emily Gregory: Thanks.
