Former Apprentice contestant defeated in Florida special election

Jose Felix "Pepi" Diaz.
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/Florida Democratic Party)

Tuesday was not a good night for politicians who have ever had any association with President Trump — his pick in Alabama's Republican Senate primary runoff was soundly defeated, and a man he once fired on The Apprentice lost a state Senate special election in Florida.

The special election in District 40 was held after the previous state senator, Republican Frank Artiles, resigned following his use of the n-word in front of two black colleagues. Businesswoman Annette Taddeo, a Democrat, defeated Republican Jose Felix "Pepi" Diaz, a current state representative and former Apprentice contestant. Diaz appeared on just two episodes, and was fired by a pre-presidential Donald Trump after "he lost the respect" of his teammates. This is the seventh seat Democrats have flipped this year, with Republicans yet to do so. Catherine Garcia

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.