(CNN) — Former Police Chief Jane Castor became the first LGBTQ person elected mayor of Tampa, Florida, on Tuesday, easily winning a runoff. Castor said her victory “sends a resounding message to our community – no, it sends a resounding message to the nation – that Tampa celebrates its diversity and lifts everyone up in a positive way.” “We don’t tear people down with negativity,” Castor said to a crowd of supporters, “so thank you all for believing in that message.” Castor won more than 70% of the vote, according to the unofficial results posted on the supervisor of elections’ website. Her opponent, businessman David Straz, conceded the nonpartisan race. The Florida Democratic Party posted on Twitter: “. @JaneforTampa’s historic victory is a clear win for Tampa and cements her status as a rising star in the Democratic Party. Her big victory is just the latest sign that Tampa has become a vibrant, welcoming city where everyone has a shot to succeed — no matter who you love.” Castor served 31 years at the Tampa Police Department, first as a beat cop and then six years as police chief, according to her campaign website. The former police chief was backed by the Human Rights Campaign and the Equality Florida Action PAC. The Human Rights Campaign tweeted after Castor’s win, “@HRC was proud to endorse @JaneforTampa and look forward to working closely with her to ensure the city continues to move forward as an inclusive and welcoming place for everyone.” Equality Florida Action posted on Twitter, “. @eqfl_actionPAC spotlight candidate @JaneforTampa has made history tonight as Tampa’s first openly #LGBTQ mayor! We look forward to working with Mayor-elect Castor as she continues the work to keep Tampa a beacon of diversity in the South! #sayfie” The senior political director of Equality Florida, Joe Saunders, had said in a news release backing Castor, “Representation matters, especially for LGBTQ families. When Jane wins, she will be Tampa’s first LGBTQ mayor, the first LGBTQ woman to lead one of Florida’s largest cities and the only LGBTQ woman leading a major U.S. city in the southeast United States.” Castor, in her victory remarks, said, “I have never been more hopeful or more excited about our city’s future.”<doc-sep>Dana Bash: This is so telling about where the Republican party is NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 24: Trump Tower stands on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on August 24, 2018 in New York City. Following new allegations over hush money that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen paid to an adult-film actress, the Manhattan district attorneyÕs office in New York City may seek criminal charges against the Trump Organization in the coming days. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 08: US Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-VA) remarks on the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at the US Capitol November 8, 2006 in Washington, DC. Warner said he supports President George W. Bush's nomination of former CIA Director Robert Gates for Secretary of Defense. Warner said he anticipates Gates' confirmation before the end of the year. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), joined by Senate Assistant Minority Leader John Thune (R-SD) (L) and Senate Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO), speaks following a Senate Republican Policy luncheon at the Russell Senate Office Building on May 18, 2021 in Washington, DC. (CNN) — On Tuesday night, former Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor was elected mayor of Florida’s third-largest city. Castor’s victory was national news because she’s the first lesbian elected mayor in Florida – and the first in the broader southeast as well. In search of more info about Castor and the broader political landscape that elected her, I reached out to Tampa Bay Times reporter Kirby Wilson. Our conversation, conducted via email and lightly edited for flow, is below. Cillizza: How expected/unexpected was Jane Castor’s victory (by a margin of 46 points)? Wilson: Predicting politics in 2019 is a bad idea if you don’t have a robust model with good data. Only a few polls were conducted on this race, so we didn’t have good data. Having said that, going into Tuesday, Castor’s win was all but inevitable. The margin was huge, but it wasn’t really surprising. The biggest reason why was empirical: Castor, 59, nearly ended the mayor’s race before it really began. In the March 5 primary, Castor came about 1,000 votes short of a majority in a seven-way race. Had she gotten that majority, there would have been no runoff. That set up a situation where the second-place finisher in the primary, the deep-pocketed David Straz, needed to win basically every non-Castor vote from March to stand a chance in the April 23 runoff. The best way to do that, his team figured, was to go negative. Straz, 76, a well-known philanthropist and retired banker, questioned Castor’s record as Tampa’s police chief. He eschewed debates and tried to argue in mailers and television ads that Castor was the consummate corrupt insider. Straz’s strategy was widely panned. Tampa’s outgoing mayor, Bob Buckhorn, who vociferously backed Castor in the campaign, called Straz’s campaign a “dumpster fire” on Tuesday and said his campaign team “should be charged with elder abuse.” Cillizza: What’s Tampa like, politically speaking? Conservative? Liberal? In between? Wilson: The city of Tampa is heavily Democrat-leaning. A majority of voters in the 2019 mayor’s race were Democrats. Going into the 2019 elections, every city council member was a Democrat. The elections did not change that. But it’s no San Francisco. The Democrats that have run the town for the better part of a decade are widely seen as more pragmatic than ideological. Buckhorn worked with former Republican Gov. Rick Scott – the ultimate villain for Florida Democrats – on a number of economic proposals. Jane Castor, actually at one time a Republican herself, looks to be very much in the Buckhorn mold. Cillizza: How much of an issue – if at all – was Castor’s sexuality in the race? Did she talk about it? Did her opponent? Wilson: Castor did not really discuss her sexuality in the race. Neither did her opponent, Straz. It might be tempting to discount the history that’s tied up in Castor’s identity. That would be misguided. As recently as 2013, a local County Commission law forbade Tampa’s government from recognizing or participating in the city’s pride parade. Same-sex couples were only allowed to marry in Tampa starting in 2015. Tampa’s LGBTQ community was well aware of the historic implications of Castor’s election. And she’s not just Tampa’s first openly gay mayor. Advocates say Castor is the first openly gay woman to lead a major southeastern city. Cillizza: Are there broader lessons – for either or both parties – to be learned about Florida from this race? Wilson: Tampa has been no exception to some of the national trends we’ve seen in politics. Urban centers are generally becoming more liberal, and rural areas more conservative. I’m not sure how Republicans overcome this trend to regain control of Florida’s third-largest city. Especially in today’s national political climate, it’s hard to imagine a Republican succeeding in Tampa when every decision he or she makes on the campaign trail will be compared in some way to Donald Trump. Democrats, for their part, should be reminded of the importance of consistent messaging. The party has been out of power in Tallahassee for more than two decades, but time and again they seem to look for the quick fix. In the 2014 governor’s race, they hoped the moderate Charlie Crist’s name recognition would win out. In 2018, they went the opposite direction, nominating the ultra-progressive and relatively unknown Andrew Gillum. Neither candidate’s message had much equity with Democratic voters, and neither strategy worked. (Important note: Both of these elections were super close, so take any broad lessons learned with a grain of salt. They could easily have gone the other way.) Tampa’s Democratic political nexus – which includes Buckhorn, the outgoing mayor; the state senator representing the city, Janet Cruz; and now Castor – all had decades of experience in public service before running for their current offices. It takes a long time, a lot of consistent messaging and – perhaps most importantly – a lot of luck to win the trust of voters.<doc-sep>Click here to read this story in Spanish TAMPA — Jane Castor is Tampa’s next mayor, making history as the first openly gay mayor to gain office in Tampa Bay. The retired police chief crushed opponent David Straz with 73 percent of the vote, stretching a near-win in the primary seven weeks ago into a full-on rout Tuesday night. It was over before the first ballot cast on Election Day got counted. Castor, 59, ran up an overwhelming lead in early voting, ending any hope for Straz despite his record spending on the race. RESULTS: How the numbers in the Tampa mayor and city council elections broke down Campaign finance reports show the retired banker spent nearly $5-million during the campaign, much of it from his personal fortune. That means Straz spent nearly $345 for every vote he received. Castor, who won all but 7 of the city’s 103 precincts, spent about $44 per vote. Castor greeted cheering supporters at a downtown watch party Tuesday night with arms raised. “The next mayor of Tampa!” she said to a roar at The Vault. Her speech was mostly thank you’s to her supporters, including outgoing Mayor Bob Buckhorn and political consultant Ana Cruz, Castor’s partner, whom she dubbed “invincible.” Castor said it was important to note her campaign stayed positive. LIVE BLOG: Coverage of the Tampa mayoral and City Council races. “No matter what we went through, no matter what obstacle was put in our way, we never lost our focus on the issues that mattered,” she said. Those issues, she said, were strengthening neighborhoods, including boosting transit options and beefing up affordable housing stock in a rapidly gentrifying city. She closed by noting that her election sent a “resounding message,” and asked Tampa to rally behind her as she readies the city for historic change. "I’ll take us there," she said. Shortly after, Straz agreed it was time for the city to rally behind its next mayor. “If you want the best for Tampa, you want Jane Castor to succeed as mayor,” he said. Retired Tampa police chief Jane Castor easily defeated retired banker and philanthropist David Straz to become the next mayor of Tampa on Tuesday. She becomes the city's first openly gay mayor and the first gay woman to lead a major Florida city. [OCTAVIO JONES | Times] The seven-week runoff campaign was largely conducted through television ads, mailers and social media rather than face-to-face debates. Straz, 76, declined most debates and forums, saying voters were tired of them. Instead, he spent millions to flood residents with a series of negative ads attacking Castor’s 31-year career with the Tampa Police Department, capped by her tenure as chief between 2009-2015. He also portrayed City Hall as a nest of corruption ruled by insiders on the take. He provided almost no evidence of either charge. TAMPA CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 1: Joseph Citro scores easy win over opponent Walter L. Smith II TAMPA CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 3: John Dingfelder heads back to Tampa City Council in big win TAMPA CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 5: Orlando Gudes wins close City Council race over Jeffrey Rhodes Castor largely ignored her opponent after nearly winning the race outright in the primary with 48 percent of the vote, almost triple Straz’s 15.5 percent. She received endorsements from Buckhorn and the three returning city council members as well as most of the city’s business and political establishment. Her message was largely based on her track record as chief and a promise she will keep Tampa on the overall trajectory launched by Buckhorn. Many voters responded to that approach Tuesday, saying they trusted her vision and leadership. "She ran a positive campaign," said Burns Jones, 58, after casting his ballot for Castor at the Tampa Garden Club on Bayshore Boulevard. Jones said he was turned off by the negative tone of Straz’s campaign. Charles McDonald, 66, said he picked Castor partly because he saw her shopping in East Tampa neighborhood stores with her sons. "I want the city to progress in the right direction," McDonald said after he voted for her at the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in East Tampa. Philanthropist David Straz gives his concession speech to his supporters after being defeated by former police chief Jane Castor in Tuesday's mayoral election. Straz held his watch party at Wright's Gourmet House in Tampa. [ALLIE GOULDING | Times] Straz focused his efforts on the city’s poorer neighborhoods, especially the city’s African-American communities. He said those neighborhoods had been neglected by insiders at City Hall, a group his campaign alternately called a "good old boys network" or a "cabal." He also promised to end the city’s red light camera program, which polls have shown to be unpopular with residents. In the end, Straz won five heavily African-American precincts, but that was about it. AT WHAT COST: David Straz spent $345 per vote — and lost by nearly 25,000 of them Several people who voted for Straz on Tuesday said they liked his stances and his status as an outsider. "Honestly, I think the red light cameras are just a revenue enhancer," said Bubba Ellis, 64, outside the Sons of Italy Lodge in West Tampa. He said he liked Straz’s business experience and the fact he had never served in government. At the Temple Terrace United Methodist Church, Terrence Holton, 48, said his vote for Straz was "payback" for Castor’s policy while police chief of disproportionately ticketing black bicyclists in an effort to reduce crime. COMPLETE GUIDE: Everything you need to know about the 2019 Tampa Mayor’s Race 2019 Although Straz and Castor only met for two televised debates and a forum in West Tampa, their respective spending wiped out all previous records for local races in Tampa Bay. Campaign financial filings show Straz raised $5.1 million while Castor raised about $2 million, much of it through an affiliated political committee that netted donations from many Tampa corporations, law firms and at least $200,00 from Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik. Vinik was a frequent target for Straz, who called for an investigation of his influence at City Hall in February before backing off.<doc-sep>With Meghna Chakrabarti Four years ago, same-sex couples couldn’t get married in Tampa, Florida. This spring, the city elected its first lesbian mayor. We talk with Mayor Jane Castor. Guest Jane Castor, mayor of Tampa, Florida. Former Tampa chief of police. (@JaneCastor) Jane Castor, former Tampa chief of police, answers questions from the audience during the Woman’s History Month panel held at the chapel on MacDill Air Force Base Fla., Mar. 23, 2012. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Melissa V. Paradise) From The Reading List Tampa Bay Times: "Jane Castor wins big in Tampa mayor’s race" - "Jane Castor is Tampa’s next mayor, making history as the first openly gay mayor to gain office in Tampa Bay. "The retired police chief crushed opponent David Straz with 73 percent of the vote, stretching a near-win in the primary seven weeks ago into a full-on rout Tuesday night. "It was over before the first ballot cast on Election Day got counted. Castor, 59, ran up an overwhelming lead in early voting, ending any hope for Straz despite his record spending on the race. "Campaign finance reports show the retired banker spent nearly $5-million during the campaign, much of it from his personal fortune. That means Straz spent nearly $345 for every vote he received. Castor, who won all but 7 of the city’s 103 precincts, spent about $44 per vote."<doc-sep>
Former police Chief Jane Castor was elected mayor of Tampa, Florida, on Tuesday, becoming the first out lesbian mayor of a major city in the state. Castor said that her win “sends a resounding message to our community — no, it sends a resounding message to the nation, that Tampa celebrates its diversity and lifts everyone up in a positive way.” Castor, 59, told supporters during her acceptance speech Tuesday night that as mayor, she would focus on “strengthening our neighborhoods” and promised to build a city that residents would “be proud to pass off to the next generation,” with a focus on affordable housing and a living wage. In Tuesday's runoff election, Castor easily defeated businessman David Straz, who earned just 15.5 percent the vote in the March 5 general election. Castor nearly won that election outright with 49 percent, but without a majority, the election was forced to the runoff. She was widely expected to win; the Tampa Bay Times called the election for Castor just 15 minutes after the polls closed Tuesday night. Castor served on the Tampa police force for 31 years and was the city's first woman and first openly LGBTQ Police Chief from 2009 to 2015. On the campaign trail, Castor touted a historic drop in the city's crime rate while she led the department. Castor is the first out lesbian mayor of a major Southeastern city. She’s also the third out lesbian to be elected mayor in 2019, after Lori Lightfoot won in Chicago and Satya Rhodes-Conway won in Madison, Wisconsin. “Both LGBTQ people and women face tremendous obstacles in running for public office, but Jane’s victory shows lesbian candidates can win citywide office with a strong record of public service and policy priorities that align with their constituents,” said Annise Parker, former mayor of Houston and president of the LGBTQ Victory Fund. “While voters chose Jane because of her vision for Tampa, her willingness to be open and honest about her life lent her an authenticity that voters are drawn to not just in Tampa, but across the nation.” Late last year, Teri Johnston became the first out lesbian mayor in Florida when she was voted in to office in Key West, a city of about 25,000 people. Parker called 2019 the “Year of the Lesbian Mayor” because the number of lesbians elected mayor of a big city rose from two to seven, and could end up at eight later this year if Jolie Justus is elected mayor of Kansas City. According to the Victory Fund, only 38 openly LGBTQ people are currently serving as mayor in America. CORRECTION (April 24, 2019, 7:35 a.m. ET): An earlier version of this article misidentified the first out lesbian mayor in Florida. It was Teri Johnston of Key West, not Jane Castor of Tampa.