West Palm Beach
City on Florida's Atlantic coast; the seat and largest city of Palm Beach County.
West Palm Beach, the seat and largest city of Palm Beach County, anchors the FL-22 district, which Sabato's Crystal Ball moved from Safe Democrat to Leans Republican when Florida's new congressional map was signed on 4 May 2026.
Last refreshed: 18 October 2026
Timeline for West Palm Beach
Mentioned in: DeSantis signs Florida 24R-4D map into law
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West Palm Beach is the seat and largest city of Palm Beach County, with 117,415 residents at the 2020 census. It is the home base of Lois Frankel, its mayor from 2003 to 2011, who is one of four Democratic incumbents targeted by the congressional map Ron DeSantis signed on 4 May 2026. Sabato's Crystal Ball moved her FL-22 seat from Safe Democrat to Leans Republican that day.
Henry Flagler platted the town in 1893 to house workers for his hotels on Palm Beach, across the Lake Worth Lagoon. It was incorporated in 1894 and became the county seat in 1909.
The city sits in Palm Beach County, one of three counties where Florida barred Justice Department monitors from polling places in 2022. That refusal resurfaced in October 2026, when the NAACP sued for records on the department's election monitors.
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Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 18 October 2026. Editorial standards.