Randy Fine, a State Senator, Wins a House Seat in Florida, Adding to the G.O.P. Majority.
Randy Fine, a Republican state senator in Florida, won the special election in Florida’s Sixth Congressional District on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.Mr.Fine beat Josh Weil, a Democrat, in the race for the seat vacated by former Representative Michael Waltz.
Mr.Waltz is now President Trump’s national security adviser..
The race was one of two special House elections in Florida on Tuesday, both for seats formerly held by Republicans.The party needs to retain both to protect its thin majority in the House.The race to replace former Representative Matt Gaetz in the state’s First Congressional District, in the Panhandle, had not yet been called since polls are still open in part of the district.
Jimmy Patronis, the state’s chief financial officer, is facing Gay Valimont, a Democrat who lost to Mr.Gaetz last year.The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rated both districts as solidly Republican.
Mr.Fine and Mr.
Patronis each cleared their respective primary fields easily after securing Mr.Trump’s endorsement.Still, the Democratic candidates in both districts mounted fierce fund-raising campaigns that brought in millions of dollars despite their party’s recent struggles in Florida.As the special elections drew near, some Republicans voiced concern about Mr.
Fine’s race.Steve Bannon, a top ally of Mr.
Trump, warned on his show “War Room” that “we have a candidate that I don’t think is winning — that’s an issue.”Gov.Ron DeSantis, a Republican who represented the Sixth District before running for statewide office, predicted that “it’s going to be a way underperformance” for his party, compared with previous elections, but he said that such a result would be “a reflection of the specific candidate running in that race.”Mr.
Fine, a former gambling lobbyist and pugnacious state representative, is the only Jewish Republican in the Florida Legislature.He broke with the governor when he endorsed Mr.
Trump instead of Mr.De...