Former President Joe Biden made it known that he was happy a Democrat would soon be representing Mar-a-Lago. The Daily Mail has learned that Biden, 83, placed a call on Wednesday to Emily Gregory, who shockingly won a Florida special election Tuesday to take President Donald Trump’s Florida resort out of Republican hands. Gregory ran against Trump-backed Republican Jon Maples to represent Florida’s House District 87 in the Florida House of Representatives. The previous holder of the seat, Republican state Representative Mike Caruso, won the state legislative seat by 19 points in 2024, with President Donald Trump winning the district by about 10 points that year.
The Personal Call
With nearly all the votes counted, Gregory led Maples by 2.4 percentage points, or 797 votes, the Associated Press said. The call from Biden to Gregory was congratulatory in nature. He typically gives out his phone number on the calls, telling rising Democrats to feel free to lean on him as a resource, as he plays an elder statesman role in the party. Trump had put his weight behind Maples in the primary, giving him a ringing endorsement in January. The President also took heat for voting by mail in this special election after raging against the use of mail-in ballots. The White House clapped back Tuesday, telling the Daily Mail that Trump supports the SAVE America Act, which allows exceptions for ‘illness, disability, military, or travel.’
Beyond Palm Beach
‘As everyone knows, the President is a resident of Palm Beach and participates in Florida elections, but he obviously primarily lives at the White House in Washington, D.C.,’ White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told the Daily Mail. ‘This is a non-story.’ Gregory isn’t the only Democratic victor that Biden has reached out to. The Daily Mail can also reveal that Biden phoned Illinois’ Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton (pictured), who won the state’s Democratic Senate primary last week. Stratton was in a three-way race against two members of Congress, but had the backing and financial support of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. With Illinois being a solidly blue state, Stratton is expected to win the seat in November, which was vacated by retiring Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin.
Biden also reached out to Texas state Representative James Talarico, the winner of the Texas Democratic Senate primary earlier this month. Talarico bested the better-known Representative Jasmine Crockett, who sought the Senate seat after Republicans redistricted her House seat, making it far more red. His race will be far tougher than Stratton’s, as Texas hasn’t elected a Democratic senator since 1988. Beyond making political calls, Biden has dedicated several hours each day to writing his memoir. The ex-President inked a book deal last summer for $10million – far less than the estimated $65million doled out to former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama for their memoirs. The book is expected to be released later this year, but no publication date has been set.
Biden has recently been spotted flying commercial and taking Amtrak, as he did for years while serving in the U.S. Senate representing Delaware. Last week, he made a surprise trip to Boston to mark St. Patrick’s Day. A source familiar tells the Daily Mail that he and the former First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, have several joint events scheduled for the month of April. Additionally, work on his foundation and presidential library is ramping up. All the while, the 83-year-old is dealing with a serious cancer diagnosis, but insiders have been encouraged that he’s responding well to treatment and is continuing to work on stuff that he cares about.
