Republican state Sen. Randy Fine won a special election Tuesday to represent Florida's 6th Congressional District, defeating Democratic challenger Josh Weil and squashing efforts by national Democrats who spent millions of dollars on the race. Fine had faced growing pressure during the race's final days as some Republicans publicly criticized his campaign and fundraising efforts, the AP reports. His victory ends Democratic hopes to score a huge upset in a district that was heavily supportive of President Trump in November.
The race to fill the seat vacated by Mike Waltz when he was tapped to become Trump's national security adviser received national attention. Democrats poured money into Weil's campaign to outraise Fine by nearly tenfold, attempting to flip a seat where the president won by more than 30 points. Fine, a self-described "conservative firebrand," ran with Trump's endorsement. Waltz won the seat by 33 points in November but Fine's victory is set to be narrower. According to DecisionDeskHQ, Fine is at around 55% and Weil at 44% with 90% of results in.
In Florida's other special election Tuesday, the state's chief financial officer, Jimmy Patronis, defeated Democrat Gay Valimont in the 1st District. Patronis will fill the northwest Florida seat vacated by former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who was chosen to be Trump's attorney general but withdrew from consideration amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Valimont, a gun control activist, benefited from the outrage of national donors alarmed by the early months of Trump''s second term but was ultimately not able to pull off what would have been a massive upset in a district both Trump and Gaetz won by more than 30 points last year, the AP reports. This story has been updated with new developments.
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