{"id":2418679,"date":"2025-04-01T20:21:01","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T00:21:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/randy-fine-wins-florida-special-election-in-nail-biter-race\/"},"modified":"2025-04-01T20:24:05","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T00:24:05","slug":"randy-fine-wins-florida-special-election-in-nail-biter-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/randy-fine-wins-florida-special-election-in-nail-biter-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Randy Fine wins Florida special election in nail-biter race"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frandy-fine-wins-florida-special-election-in-nail-biter-race%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2418679&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Randy Fine, a Republican State Senator, has secured victory in a closely contested special election for Florida&#8217;s 6th Congressional District, succeeding former Congressman Michael Waltz. Fine garnered approximately 53.7% of the vote, defeating Democrat Josh Weil, who received around 45.6%. The race garnered national attention due to the unexpectedly competitive nature, with Republicans initially concerned about early voting indications suggesting a narrow margin. Fine&#8217;s win is viewed as a stabilizing factor for Republicans in a closely divided house, increasing their majority to 219 seats. Despite Fine&#8217;s victory,concerns over lower voting margins compared to previous elections have led to speculation regarding voter dissatisfaction with the Trump management. Republican leaders and media echoed that any margin less than the expected 30-point win should signal a need for reflection on the party&#8217;s direction. Fine, who previously served in the Florida House and Senate, emphasized the unpredictable nature of special elections amid varied turnout ratios. Meanwhile, Weil campaigned as a progressive candidate aiming to connect with disenchanted voters in the traditionally Republican district.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Randy Fine wins Florida special election in nail-biter race to replace Waltz&nbsp;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2079747\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Republican State Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3363846\/randy-fine-resets-gop-expectations-florida-special-election-josh-weil\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Randy Fine\">Randy Fine<\/a> has won a close election to a U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/news\/house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"House\">House<\/a> seat representing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/florida\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Florida\">Florida<\/a>&rsquo;s 6th Congressional District to succeed former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-waltz\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Donald Trump\">Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL)<\/a>, who stepped down to become President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Donald Trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-president-trump-to-pardon-gen-michael-flynn-per-report\/\" title=\"BREAKING: President Trump to Pardon Gen. Michael Flynn, Per Report\">national security adviser<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Fine, who represents a Brevard County-based state Senate district, defeated Orlando teacher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3363583\/josh-weil-upset-florida-special-election-seniors-veterans-angry-doge-cuts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Josh Weil<\/a>, a Democrat, in the race for the seat on the Atlantic Coast. Neither candidate currently resides in the district.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3366378\/where-democrat-confidence-in-florida-special-election-comes-from\/\">Where Democrats&#8217; confidence in Florida&#8217;s special election comes from<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3366349\/kentucky-democrat-pamela-stevenson-bid-mitch-mcconnell-senate-seat\/\">Kentucky Democrat Pamela Stevenson launches bid to fill McConnell&rsquo;s Senate seat<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3364845\/florida-special-elections-trump-wake-up-call\/\">Florida special elections give Trump wake-up call in his backyard<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The <em>Associated Press<\/em> called the race for Fine at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday. With about three-fourths of the ballots counted, Fine led with 53.7% of the vote to Weil&rsquo;s 45.6%<\/p>\n<p>The race began to spark national attention after Republicans <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3360491\/republicans-fret-florida-special-election-mike-waltz-district\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">sounded the alarm <\/a>following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-and-harris-both-claiming-success-as-universal-support-for-early-voting-muddies-projections-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Trump and Harris both claiming success as universal support for early voting muddies projections - Washington Examiner\">early voting totals<\/a> and polls, which showed a closer-than-expected contest. Last week, the district&rsquo;s former representative-turned-national security adviser <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/national-security\/3359139\/reporter-jeffrey-goldberg-publishes-details-signal-group-chat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"sparked a media frenzy \">sparked a media frenzy <\/a>after adding a prominent journalist to a high-level group chat about the U.S. strikes in Yemen.<\/p>\n<p>Even though the margin of victory is not typical of the district, which Waltz and Trump won by over 30 points in November, Republicans say their win effectively shuts down Democrats&rsquo; argument that voters disapprove of Trump ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Randy Fine meets with Volusia County GOP volunteers on March 30, 2025. (Samantha-Jo Roth, Washington Examiner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;So as far as I&rsquo;m concerned, a win is a win, is a win,&rdquo; said Vic Baker, a committee member for the Volusia County GOP.&nbsp; &ldquo;Maybe it&rsquo;s a little smaller than we have had in the past &ndash; but there&rsquo;s only one way to look at this and it&rsquo;s that we got a win.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The outcome of the special election gives Republicans some breathing room in the narrowly divided chamber; they currently have a slim 218-213 margin. With Fine&rsquo;s victory, they will have 219.<\/p>\n<p>The unexpected competitive nature of the race has already influenced Trump&rsquo;s Cabinet decisions. Last week, he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3361333\/white-house-elise-stefanik-un-nomination-pulled-gop-math\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">announced the withdrawal<\/a> of Rep. Elise Stefanik&rsquo;s (R-NY) nomination for U.N. ambassador, citing, in part, a desire to avoid a special election for her seat later this year.<\/p>\n<p>In the week leading up to the election, Fine came under fire from GOP leaders who felt he wasn&rsquo;t mounting an effective enough campaign in the race to succeed Waltz. But, in an interview with the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, Fine argued that the conditions in a special election, typically with lower voter turnout, can be unpredictable. He warned against drawing broad conclusions about future races. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If the turnout model was the same, so if it was the same percentage of Republicans, Independents, and Democrats as November, and I won by 10 and Waltz won by 30, you&rsquo;d be able to make that conclusion. If it&rsquo;s because Democrats turned out more than Republicans, it&rsquo;s that you can take away that Democrats are really mad and Republicans are a little more complacent,&rdquo; Fine said.<\/p>\n<p>Gov. Ron DeSantis has made his disapproval of Fine clear publicly and said any kind of GOP underperformance would be due to Fine&rsquo;s candidacy and not Trump. The two have had a fraught relationship after Fine turned on DeSantis during the 2024 GOP primary and switched his endorsement to Trump after saying the governor hadn&rsquo;t done enough to address antisemitism in the wake of Hamas&rsquo;s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.<\/p>\n<p>Weil mounted his campaign for the 6th District as a &ldquo;proud progressive.&rdquo; The Democratic candidate attempted to win over seniors and veterans in the solidly red district who were frustrated with cuts made by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/elon-musk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Elon Musk<\/a>&rsquo;s Department of Government Efficiency.&nbsp;He briefly ran for Senate in 2022.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In recent years, Democrats have performed well in these contests, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3359102\/democrat-flips-pennsylvania-state-senate-seat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">a recent<\/a> Pennsylvania State Senate race, because of a different turnout than a higher-profile November election. <\/p>\n<p>Even before the race was called, Democrats were attempting to spin the results, arguing that a closer race in a solidly Republican district should signal that voters are dissatisfied with the Trump administration&rsquo;s work since taking office in January.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Anything less than a 30-point win for Republicans in this district is a loss &mdash; period, if they don&rsquo;t get the message that Americans are not on board with the Trump administration&rsquo;s agenda, then they are not listening,&rdquo; said Pamela Castellana, a DNC member and the vice chairwoman for the Florida Democratic Party. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Josh Weil speaks to volunteers during a canvassing launch in Daytona Beach on March 29, 2025. (Samantha-Jo Roth, Washington Examiner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee did not invest in the race, but Weil had a significant war chest after tapping into progressive rage across the country, raising 10 times more money than Fine, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/financial-underdog-larry-hogan-trying-to-flip-blue-senate-seat-as-billionaire-democrat-has-given-his-own-campaign-41-million\/\" title=\"Larry Hogan, a financial underdog, aims to ... a blue Senate ... as a billionaire Democrat injects  million into his own ...\">federal campaign finance records<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3364845\/florida-special-elections-trump-wake-up-call\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"FLORIDA SPECIAL ELECTIONS GIVE TRUMP WAKE-UP CALL IN HIS BACKYARD\">FLORIDA SPECIAL ELECTIONS GIVE TRUMP WAKE-UP CALL IN HIS BACKYARD<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In the final days of the race, national Republicans sent in resources. According to data from media-tracking firm AdImpact, over $5 million was spent on television ads. Despite Weil&rsquo;s strong fundraising numbers, he has been significantly outspent on TV nearly 4-to-1.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Fine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3303698\/house-republicans-randy-fine-jimmy-patronis-election-wins-florida\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">won a three-way primary <\/a>on Jan. 28 with Trump&rsquo;s endorsement. The 50-year-old served eight years in the Florida House before being elected to the state Senate in November. As the only Jewish Republican in the 160-member Florida legislature, Fine has welcomed the moniker &ldquo;Hebrew Hammer,&rdquo; which was given to him by a Republican colleague. He has emerged as a key advocate of pro-Israel policies and efforts to fight antisemitism.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2079747\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2079747\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Randy Fine wins Florida special election to succeed Waltz<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2657,"featured_media":2418680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_5611-1024x823.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[44425,52660,32603,52548,37103],"class_list":["post-2418679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-florida-election","tag-nail-biter","tag-political-news","tag-randy-fine","tag-special-election"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_5611-1024x823.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2418679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2657"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2418679"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2418679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2418683,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2418679\/revisions\/2418683"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2418680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2418679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2418679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2418679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}