Waking up the morning after a big election is frequently an unsettling experience. There’s the vague sensation that something has changed, but it takes a while to get your head around what that “something” actually was.

And no matter where you fall on the political spectrum, a lot changed Tuesday night. It will take time — and patience — to see how those changes will affect Central Floridians. But there can be no doubt: The people have spoken, and while the messages are in some way contradictory, the will of the voters must be honored.

How that will look, over the coming few years, remains to be seen.

A few things are immediately clear. Florida hit a milestone Tuesday by electing its first Black governor — and that happened through the active participation of conservative voters who chose him as their nominee and then carried him to victory. But those same voters also saddled him with a thorny new fiscal landscape. Forecasts show the state headed toward a budget deficit in three years or less. And the passage of Amendment 3, which dangled a giant property-tax break for homeowners but didn’t delve into the crushing impact on local governments, will put another strain on state leaders as they hear their constituents wail about the loss of county and city services they’ve come to rely on. It will take thoughtful leadership — and respect for the role of local leaders — to navigate the turbulence that’s about to be unleashed.

We also hope that Donalds sheds one of the most wretched remnants of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration: The rampant cronyism and lavish spending that has sent public dollars flowing into the pockets of those with the right connections.

He should also confront the reckless conduct of James Uthmeier and Blaise Ingoglia, who were elected by narrow margins to the Cabinet-level positions they were given by DeSantis. Floridians chose an attorney general who has demonstrated arrogant disrespect for the rule of law and the will of voters — along with a chief financial officer who gleefully used fake numbers and misleading attacks to gin up support for Amendment 3. Donalds could start his administration as a hero if he makes it clear that their shenanigans will no longer be tolerated.

There’s also this reality: While the Legislature remains in the hands of Republicans, there was a sharp upswing in the number of voters who rejected the GOP agenda. Nowhere is that more evident than in Seminole County, long considered a reliable Republican bastion — where the vote turned so decisively blue that even popular, well-known incumbents lost their bids for re-election, including state Rep. Rachel Plakon and County Commissioner Amy Lockhart.

There’s one more message we hope Florida’s new leaders take to heart. Voters solidly rejected the despicable efforts to slice and dice congressional districts: All four districts that were redrawn to heavily favor Republicans remain in the hands of Democrats. That includes the man considered — right up to the eve of the election — as one of the nation’s most endangered incumbents. Rep. Darren Soto’s margin of apparent victory is so thin that a recount may be needed, but it seems almost certain that he has won re-election despite a district that was reconfigured to reach all the way down to Lake Okeechobee and over to the east coast of Florida.

Soto won over voters in this sprawling district by talking about the issues that matter to them — the same issues he identifies as a priority when Democrats take over Congress in January. His first priority is to reverse the cruel decisions of the current administration — restoring cuts to health care and food assistance, ending economically ruinous tariffs and the disastrous war in Iran, stopping mass deportations and going after corruption.

“They tried to carve up Central Florida like we were nothing,” Soto said Wednesday. But this area — which provides so much wealth to state and federal governments, but has so many people struggling to afford the necessities of daily life — refused to be taken for granted.

They need help, and in many ways, that help is going to be harder to find. That leaves Florida’s newest leaders — starting with Donalds — with a challenge: Fight through the economic turmoil that the state faces in coming years, and prioritize the needs of those who are the most vulnerable. Yes, Donalds is a Republican. But he understands the struggle that so many of this state’s residents face. If he unleashes that empathy, he could be remembered as one of Florida’s best governors. That’s what voters were clearly praying for, and we hope those prayers are granted.

©2026 Orlando Sentinel. Visit at orlandosentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.