Democrat Oliver Gilbert has won election to represent Florida’s 24th Congressional District, taking over the South Florida seat that Frederica Wilson has held since 2011. Gilbert defeated Republican Te Brown in Tuesday’s general election, according to CBS News, which projected his win in the race to replace the longtime congresswoman.
Gilbert’s victory was confirmed in a report from WTOP, which noted simply that the Democrat had won election to the U.S. House seat. Wilson chose not to seek reelection this cycle, leaving the seat open for the first time in more than a decade. Gilbert previously served as mayor of Miami Gardens and has sat on the Miami-Dade County Commission since 2020, after earlier working as an assistant state attorney in Broward County and in private legal practice.
A Crowded Primary Behind Him
Gilbert’s path to the general election ran through a seven-candidate Democratic primary in August 2026, which he won outright. Fellow Democrat Shevrin Jones conceded that primary on election night. Two other candidates also made it onto Tuesday’s general election ballot: Andy Daro qualified as a no-party candidate, and Patricia Gonzalez qualified as a write-in.
The district itself stretches across northern Miami-Dade and southern Broward counties, covering predominantly Black and Hispanic communities including Miami Gardens, Opa-locka, North Miami, Little Haiti, Brownsville, West Park, Pembroke Park, and portions of Miramar and Miami.
Affordability Dominated the Campaign
Affordability was a central theme of Gilbert’s run, and he carried that message from the primary into the general election. During the primary, he identified housing, gas and grocery costs as the top concerns he heard from voters. In an interview covered by CBS News Miami, Gilbert said increasing the housing supply is essential to addressing affordability, and tied that goal directly to transit investment. “We need to find ways to do that, and that automatically ties to rapid mass transit,” he said.
Brown, his Republican opponent, offered a different prescription for the housing crunch. She said lowering credit requirements could help more people qualify to buy homes, according to the same CBS News Miami report. On immigration, Gilbert called for extending Temporary Protected Status and creating a path to citizenship, saying, “We obviously need comprehensive immigration reform, but we need to extend TPS right now. We need to provide a path to citizenship right now.” Brown took a more cautious stance, saying the border must be secure while agreeing that a pathway to citizenship should be available under certain conditions.
Health Care Proposals and an Endorsement
On health care, Gilbert proposed expanding access by lowering Medicare’s eligibility age and raising Medicaid income limits. Wilson, who is stepping aside after representing the district since 2011, endorsed Gilbert in the race to succeed her.
As of Tuesday, Florida’s official election results portal cautioned that the numbers were not yet final. The state’s results summary page stated that all results were preliminary and unofficial until provisional ballots and cure affidavits are reviewed and the official results are certified by the Canvassing Board. The same page showed 1,543 ballots statewide still pending signature verification or canvassing as of that date.
