What did Donald Trump do today?

He "cheated" in an election, but his candidate lost anyway.

Emily Gregory (D) defeated Jon Maples (R) in a special election for Florida's 87th State House district tonight. The seat had previously been held by a Republican, Mike Caruso, who won by a 19-point margin in 2024. The district also voted for Trump by 11 points in the 2024 election. Gregory's victory is the latest in a series of improbable special and off-year election victories in red districts fueled by Trump's deep unpopularity.

Reuters/Ipsos poll, March 20-23

Gregory's victory is notable for two reasons. The first is that Donald Trump will now be her constituent: the district she won, over Trump's hand-picked candidate Maples, is the one where Trump officially resides (and actually resides, for about three days out of most weeks thanks to his heavy use of a taxpayer-funded private jet). Gregory's win came thanks to huge turnout in her favor from independent voters, making up the significant registration disadvantage her party has in the district: Republicans outnumber Democrats by a 3-to-2 margin.

The second is that she won in spite of Trump casting a ballot in a way that he himself has (falsely) called "cheating" and "VOTER FRAUD!" In other words, like almost a third of all American voters, he cast a ballot by mail—as he frequently does.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with Trump voting in this convenient, legal, secure fashion, especially considering his advanced age and mobility issues that might make in-person voting inconvenient. But getting rid of that option for almost everyone else is such a priority for him that he's made a (functionally meaningless) promise not to sign any legislation until Congress passes a bill that would all but end absentee voting, including vote by mail.

Why does this matter?

• Making it hard for opponents of the leader to vote is what dictators do.