TALLAHASSEE, FL, Nov. 5, 2026 — The Associated Press on Thursday afternoon projected a winner in one of the five Florida U.S. House races that had been stuck since Election Night, while four others stayed too close for an AP call, according to Launchpad's evening read of AP's public results pages and the Florida Division of Elections' unofficial file.

AP's elections feed recorded at 2:38 p.m. ET: "Republican Anna Paulina Luna elected to U.S. House in Florida's 13th District." That leaves Districts 7, 9, 26 and 27 without an AP call as of Launchpad's 6:12–6:13 p.m. ET snap of AP's Florida results and U.S. House pages.

The four races still open

AP continues to list leaders — not winners — in these districts, each with a margin under 1 point and about 99% of the expected vote counted:

  • District 7 — Republican Ryan Elijah
  • District 9 — Democrat Darren Soto
  • District 26 — Republican Mario Diaz-Balart
  • District 27 — Republican Maria Elvira Salazar

AP has now called 24 of Florida's 28 U.S. House seats, including Luna's District 13. Combining called seats with the leaders in the four uncalled races still points toward a 20–8 Republican edge in the delegation — the same split Florida had going into the election — but that math is not final until AP calls the remaining races and the state certifies results.

Unofficial state totals (Florida Division of Elections)

Launchpad refreshed the state's unofficial election-night file for the Evening Brief. All precincts are reporting in these districts. The Division of Elections unofficial counts (file updated for Launchpad at about 6:15 p.m. ET Thursday):

  • District 7: Ryan Elijah (REP) 161,189 (49.7%), Bale Dalton (DEM) 159,488 (49.2%), Christopher Dennison (LPF) 3,480 (1.1%). Margin: 1,701 votes (about 0.52% of 324,157 votes cast).
  • District 9: Darren Soto (DEM) 143,174 (50.3%), Dan Green (REP) 141,697 (49.7%). Margin: 1,477 votes (about 0.52% of 284,871).
  • District 13 (AP called for Luna): Anna Paulina Luna (REP) 155,117 (49.5%), Leela Gray (DEM) 152,600 (48.7%), Tony D'Arrigo (NPA) 5,779 (1.8%). Margin: 2,517 votes (about 0.80% of 313,496).
  • District 26: Mario Diaz-Balart (REP) 114,547 (49.9%), Nicole Locklin (DEM) 112,775 (49.1%), Deborah Ann Meidinger Hosey (NPA) 2,348 (1.0%). Margin: 1,772 votes (about 0.77% of 229,670).
  • District 27: Maria Elvira Salazar (REP) 124,474 (50.2%), Eliott Rodriguez (DEM) 123,358 (49.8%). Margin: 1,116 votes (about 0.45% of 247,832).

Florida law orders a recount when unofficial returns show a candidate lost by one-half of 1% or less of the votes cast for the office, under s. 102.141(7), Florida Statutes. District 27's current unofficial margin is about 0.45%. Districts 7 and 9 sit near 0.52%. Counties' unofficial returns are due by noon Saturday, Nov. 7; those filings decide whether a recount is ordered. The state certifies on Nov. 16.

AP said in a statement quoted by NBC 6 that a data-entry error briefly showed an incorrect vote total for Democrat Nicole Locklin in District 26 and was quickly corrected. "AP has not declared a winner in this race," the statement said.

National picture at evening

AP's national House tally at 6:13 p.m. ET Thursday showed Democrats with 253 seats and Republicans with 155, with 27 races still to be called. A majority is 218. That is up from AP's midday tally of 247–153 with 35 uncalled, which Launchpad reported in the Midday Brief.

Of races AP has called, Democrats have 249 wins and Republicans 154; Democrats lead in 11 uncalled races and Republicans in 20, per the same snap.

AP's Senate tally was unchanged at 54 Democrats to 44 Republicans, with two races still uncalled. AP's governor tally stood at 28 Democrats and 20 Republicans, with two uncalled.

Democrats already hold projected control of both chambers of Congress. The remaining uncalled House seats will set the size of that majority, not whether Democrats take the gavel.

What comes next in Florida

Watch for:

  1. Any AP calls on Districts 7, 9, 26 or 27.
  2. County canvassing boards' unofficial returns by noon Saturday, Nov. 7.
  3. Possible automatic recounts if margins stay at or under 0.5%.
  4. Certification at noon Monday, Nov. 16.

Live map, ticker and race boards: /news/election-2026/. Earlier wraps: midday and overnight.

We'll keep updating as AP and the state move the numbers.

Sources: Associated Press public results pages (florida-results, us-house-results, us-senate-results, governor-results) and AP elections feed (Luna call 2:38 p.m. ET), Launchpad snap ~6:12–6:13 p.m. ET Nov. 5, 2026; Florida Division of Elections unofficial election-night file (20261103_ElecResultsFL.txt) via results.elections.myflorida.com, refreshed ~6:15 p.m. ET Nov. 5; s. 102.141(7), Florida Statutes; NBC 6 / AP statement on District 26 data-entry correction.

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