sen. oscar braynon, center. | ap photo/steve cannon by matt dixon 11/08/16 10:17 pm est tallahassee <u+2014> despite high hopes headed into the 2016 election cycle, senate democrats were unable to win in key races tuesday night, even those that lean heavily in their favor. two of the losses come in overwhelmingly democratic-leaning miami-dade county, where the underfunded democratic candidates were not able to topple incumbent lawmakers who put together strong campaigns. story continued below democratic rep. jos<u+00e9> javier rodr<u+00ed>guez was able to defeat sen. miguel diaz de la portilla, a miami republican. but it was the lone win they picked up in the five seats where they went head-to-head senate majority, the wing of the republican party that organizes its senate races. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m very pleased the people of florida chose to bring a strong republican majority to the senate,<u+201d> said incoming senate president joe negron, who coordinated the senate effort. sen. oscar braynon, a miami democrat and incoming senate minority leader, blamed a lack of donald trump hurting turnout, as some predicted, and having fewer resources than his republican opponents. <u+201c>we were without question outspent a lot to a little,<u+201d> he said. beyond the rodr<u+00ed>guez race, the six where braynon spent heavily include: beyond resources, braynon said the lack of a negative trump effect in florida helped boost republicans in key seats. <u+201c>it became clear that you could not win a seat because of donald trump,<u+201d> braynon said. late tuesday, trump held a lead in florida, which meant he was outperforming expectations. but he still was losing 63-34 in democrat-rich south florida, which was the battleground for three of the contested state senate seats. negron said this is a point of pride for republicans because they won races in that area, and even diaz de la portilla ran a close race. <u+201c>i could not be more proud of the race he won in such a tough national environment,<u+201d> negron said. <u+201c>look at how much trump lost by in south florida.<u+201d> democrats were riding a wave of confidence into the state senate races after a redistricting legal challenge left the map much more favorable to their candidates. the senate is already deemed more moderate than the house, which gives democrats some sway. the hopes that they could pick up to three seats left many democrats envisioning the most power they<u+2019>ve had in either legislative chamber in years. braynon, though, said the resources disadvantage was just too much. <u+201c>it was a lot to try and overcome,<u+201d> he said. marc caputo's must-read briefing on what's hot, crazy or shady about politics in the sunshine state.
senate democrats fall short in key state races
matt dixon