VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — All eyes are on Florida as two key congressional races on Tuesday could determine how slim Republican’s majority is in the U.S. House of Representatives.
One is the special election between Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis and Democrat Gay Valimont to replace Matt Gaetz, who held the Congressional District 1. Gaetz resigned when President Donald Trump originally tapped him to be U.S. Attorney General, but later, Gaetz withdrew over controversy surrounding the federal sex trafficking probe and House Ethics Committee Investigation.
The other race is to replace Michael Waltz, who held Congressional District 6 before he resigned to become Trump’s national security advisor.
Tight Congressional District 6 Race
Now, Republican Randy Fine and Democrat Josh Weil are running for the historically bright red district seat. However, even some big-name Republicans are voicing concerns on whether Fine will be able to pull out a win like Governor Ron DeSantis and Steve Bannon.
On his show “War Room,” Bannon said “Trump won that district by 30 points in November...We have a candidate that I don’t think is winning. That’s an issue.”
“I think what we’re trying to do is make sure Republicans understand Democrats are mad. They’re voting. So Republicans need to have some fear of what would happen if they succeed so they get out and vote as well,” Fine told Channel 9′s Ashlyn Webb.
Weil admitted to a room of volunteers that only about 27 percent of the district are registered Democrats, but Weil said he’s confident he’s bringing in typically red-leaning voters.
“We are flipping the [district]. Voter turnout through the end of early voting shows that only 12 percent of all Republicans have voted. The numbers are well within range for us to hold this lead and maintain,” Weil told Channel 9.
The large district stretches south of St. Augustine to South Daytona over to the edge of Sanford, then Ocala and Gainesville with nearly double the amount of registered Republicans versus Democrats.
Campaign finance data shows Weil with nearly $9.5 million in fundraising compared to Fine’s nearly $1 million.
“It was an important part when I started this campaign of knowing that we were going to need money. I never believed that this was an unwinnable district,” Weil said.
“The money’s from Seattle and San Francisco and Washington D.C. and New York. This election is about whether this district is going to send someone who agrees with Donald Trump and will fight for the Donald Trump agenda or whether they’re going to put someone who says he is a proud socialist in Washington D.C.,” Fine said.
Who are the candidates?
We spoke with each candidate about the top issues they’re running on.
Weil is a self-proclaimed “proud progressive” Democrat, but he says he’s not running on a Democrat message.
“I am a public school teacher. In public schools, we serve every kid, every family, every day. We don’t pick and choose. That’s the type of mentality that we should expect from every one of our elected representatives,” Weil said.
“Day 1. What would you do if you’re elected?,” Webb asked.
“I’m going to join the Progressive Caucus and I’m going to co-sponsor this year’s version of Medicare for All,” Weil said. “Now with seeing the immediate impact from those cuts, a lot of residents are recognizing how impactful that money is, what actually it was doing for them and for their community. And there’s a lot more support to build stronger systems.”
Weil is also running on an American Dream Economy Plan intended to off-set the effects of “inflation and address the needs of new home buyers and disaster victims.”
Randy Fine is a well-known name in Florida Politics. He served four terms in the Florida House and part of a term in the Florida Senate before resigning Monday to run for Congress.
He’s a conservative who has been a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump.
“This election is about whether this district is going to send someone who agrees with Donald Trump. and will fight for the Donald Trump agenda, or whether they’re going to put someone who says he is a proud socialist in Washington D.C.,” Fine said.
Fine is running on lowering insurance rates, protecting social security and Medicare and securing the border.
He says a top priority is supporting the Trump agenda.
“For the voter that might not align with Trump, why should they vote for you?,” Webb asked.
“Sure, they should look at my record in the legislature. I think my colleagues would tell you nobody works harder. So, I got 43 bills passed in eight years in the Florida House. No one listens to his constituents. I talk straight to people. I am not your typical politician,” Fine said. “You know this, you’ve covered me. I say what I think. And I don’t tell people what they want to hear, I tell people what they need to hear, and they know they will have someone up there that will work hard for them, and we’ll work hard for roads and water and sewer and all of the issues that we have in the district.”
You can watch the whole interviews of the two candidates below.
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