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President Trump’s two preferred candidates to replace former Representatives Matt Gaetz and Michael Waltz of Florida — who each left Congress to take a role in the new administration, but with different results — easily won their special election primaries on Tuesday evening, according to The Associated Press, setting Republicans up to expand their narrow House majority.The two Republican candidates will move on to face Democratic opponents in a special general election on April 1, and will be strongly favored in districts that lean heavily Republican.Both easily lapped their Republican primary opponents in fund-raising and trumpeted Mr.
Trump’s endorsement, which deterred bigger names from entering the races.In Florida’s Sixth Congressional District, Randy Fine, a state senator, beat two others in the race to replace Mr.Waltz, who left the House of Representatives to serve as Mr.
Trump’s national security adviser.Mr.
Fine will face Josh Weil, a Democrat and a public-school teacher.Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s chief financial officer, outpolled nine other candidates in the G.O.P.race to fill Mr.
Gaetz’s seat, in the state’s First Congressional District.He will face Gay Valimont, a gun violence activist who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.If Mr.
Fine and Mr.Patronis win their general-election contests, they will bolster Republicans’ slim majority in the House; Republicans currently have 218 seats, compared with 215 for Democrats.
That edge could shrink even further if Representative Elise Stefanik, Republican of New York, is confirmed as Mr.Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations.Mr.
Gaetz, who was Mr.Trump’s initial pick for attorney general, resigned from Congress on Nov.
13, effectively ending a House investigation into allegations that he had engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.Facing an uphill confirmation battle, however, Mr.Gaetz abruptly withdrew his name from consideration on Nov.
21, saying it “was unfa...