This is the 1986 race. The latest: 2024 →

1986Flipped from DemocraticFinal resultsSpecial election

1986 special election for Florida Senate District 21

Florida State Senate · Florida

John A. Grant Jr. (R) won with 52.4% of the vote, defeating Jim Shimberg (D) by 4.7 points, flipping a seat Democrats held.

John A. Grant Jr.Republican · winner
52.4%52,391
Jim ShimbergDemocrat
47.6%47,672
100,074 votes

Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET

The seat over time

D − R margin in this seat's races around 1986

The seat's recent races

EvenD+3.01982R+4.71986 special

Source: Past results: 99chambers results archive (MEDSL, Klarner, state election offices)