Republicans will choose between two candidates in the upcoming special primary election in coastal Palm Beach County’s House District 87.

Gretchen Miller Feng, 65, of West Palm Beach, is a paralegal and a regulatory consultant for  insurance companies and other causes, including childhood swimming. Jon Maples, 43, is a financial advisor for Northwestern Mutual Life and a former town council member in Lake Clarke Shores.

Even though Maples was a Democrat until 2016, and became a Republican six years ago, he has been anointed by GOP insiders and received $40,000 from the House Republican campaign fund.

That is partly why this editorial board recommends Miller Feng. We believe Palm Beach voters should choose the nominee — not Tallahassee politicians and lobbyists.

“I threw a wrench into the mix,” said Miller Feng, a Wisconsin native who moved to Florida in 1980.

In an online interview, she said Republicans pressured her to drop out; she refused. She said Rep. Meg Weinberger, R-Palm Beach Gardens — who got elected touting outsider, MAGA credentials — urged her to withdraw.

This happens all the time in politics, and it’s wrong. Miller Feng rightly exposed it.

She also has an independent streak seldom seen in Republican legislative circles. She opposes a bill (HB 133) to lower the minimum age to buy rifles and shotguns from 21 to 18, as it was before a 19-year-old murdered 17 teachers and staff members in Parkland in 2018.

It’s refreshing to see a Republican speak her own mind on guns, a signature GOP issue.

“At that age (18), and even 21, the part of the brain that makes decisions runs more on emotion than on fact,” she told us. “I would have to vote no on this bill. I believe 18 is too young.”

To be clear, we disagree strongly with her on other issues. She supports Gov. Ron DeSantis in ending childhood vaccine mandates and she enthusiastically supports the barbaric immigrant detention center Republicans labeled “Alligator Alcatraz,” which we consider utterly inhumane.

But Maples offered simplistic answers to questions. Unlike his rival, he did not appear for a 45-minute interview with the editorial board. On the gun-buying age, he wrote in a Sun Sentinel questionnaire: “I support protecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding adults.”

This coastal district, stretching from Lantana north to Jupiter, is one of the wealthiest in the state (Mar-A-Lago is here) and is highly vulnerable to flooding.

On paper, it is safe Republican territory. The GOP had an 11-point advantage over Democrats in voter registration in the 2024 election (40% to 29%). But special elections can be fickle, and it all depends on turnout.

Early voting in this race is from Jan. 3 to 11 at three locations, listed on the county elections site.

In the Republican primary in House District 87, the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board recommends Gretchen Miller Feng.

The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Opinion Editor Dan Sweeney, editorial writers Pat Beall and Martin Dyckman, and Executive Editor Gretchen Day-Bryant. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com.

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2025/12/27/endorsement-let-gop-voters-decide-house-race/