Democrats drew eye-popping fundraising numbers and national attention to two special elections in Florida, but it wasn’t enough to overcome massive Republican majorities in the bright red House seats, according to election tallies from the state’s 6th District and turnout numbers so far in its 1st District, where polls closed an hour later.
In Florida’s 6th Congressional District, Republican state Sen. Randy Fine will fill the seat vacated by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, according to the Associated Press, which called the race 30 minutes after the polls closed. Jimmy Patronis, the state’s chief financial office, will replace former Rep. Matt Gaetz in the 1st District.
Democrats are clinging to one small victory: Fine didn’t win by as big a margin as his predecessor did in November. Fine got 56.5% after most votes were counted, down from Waltz’s 66.5% last November — though it’s a tough comparison to make because turnout during a presidential election year is typically much higher than in special elections. “Tonight’s special election in Florida is only the latest evidence showing that Trump, Musk and Republicans across the country are in big trouble, even in deep-red districts,” the Democratic National Committee said in a statement Tuesday night.
Democratic candidates Josh Weil and Gay Valimont each raised millions more than their Republican opponents. Weil said his campaign brought in $14 million, one of the highest amounts raised for a congressional race in history.
“This is living breathing proof Florida is not a red state, it is an under-invested-in state,” political consultant and Weil and Valimont’s primary fundraiser, Jackson McMillan, told NOTUS Tuesday night.
Weil and Valimont ran on opposition to the Trump administration’s deep cuts to federal agencies. Weil, a middle school teacher, campaigned heavily on Trump’s overhaul of the Department of Education, while Valimont campaigned on veterans’ access to health care, as Florida’s 1st has the second-highest number of veterans of any district in the country.
“Well, a win’s a win,” Rep. Richard Hudson, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday afternoon.
Hudson shrugged off the fact that Fine and Patronis might win more narrowly than their predecessors had in the fall, since turnout would be a fraction of what it was in November.
“It’s important to get those two Republicans back in here so we can have a little more breathing room for votes like this one,” he said, walking into the chamber for a rule vote that a handful of Republicans would ultimately tank.
In the lead up to Tuesday’s results, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had pushed back against the argument that the results were a referendum against Trump, and criticized Fine as a candidate.
“If there’s an underperformance, they’re gonna say, ‘See, it shows the voters are rejecting [Trump]. It has nothing to do with that. This is a rejection of the specific candidate among some voters,” DeSantis told reporters Tuesday, echoing similar criticisms he made a week prior.
Republicans were quick to point to the races as ones cementing Florida’s position as a Republican stronghold.
“As a third-generation Floridian, self-made businessman, and as a State Representative and State Senator, Randy has a proven record of delivering results for his community. No one is better positioned to take up the mantle for Florida families, small business owners, and workers,” NRCC spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole said in a statement.
Even before results were announced, Florida Republicans in Congress said they were anticipating two new additions to their group.
“We’re really excited. Hopefully they get sworn in tomorrow,” Rep. Aaron Bean told NOTUS on Tuesday afternoon. (An hour later, House Speaker Mike Johnson cancelled votes for the rest of the week.)
“I give the Democrats credit, they’ve organized well and they got their candidate out there with a lot of resources behind them. But in the end, I think that Florida is showing that it’s a true red state,” Rep. Mike Haridopolos told NOTUS on Tuesday afternoon.
He chalked DeSantis’ comments about Fine up to old beef over the governor’s presidential run: “I think it had a lot to do with the endorsement issue, where Randy switched his endorsement from the governor to the president.”
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Claire Heddles and Katherine Swartz are NOTUS reporters and Allbritton Journalism Institute fellows.