Republicans win Florida special elections in Trump strongholds

Republicans Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine won special elections Tuesday in two Florida congressional districts bolstered by President Donald Trumps endorsement to fill vacant seats in reliably Republican strongholdsPatronis the states chief financial officer fended off a challenge from Democrat Gay Valimont even though she far outraised and outspent him He will fill the northwest Florida 1st District seat vacated by former Rep Matt Gaetz who was chosen to be Trumps attorney general but withdrew from consideration amid allegations of sexual misconduct which he has deniedIn north Floridas 6th District Fine won against Democratic challenger Josh Weil for a seat vacated by Mike Waltz when he was tapped to become Trumps national security adviser The win bolsters Republicans margin of 220213 in the House of RepresentativesSpecial elections are often lowturnout events that can lead to surprising results While GOP wins were widely expected in both districts two of the most heavily Republican in the country its notable that Democrats narrowed the margins considerably from NovemberThe races were among the first electoral tests of Trumps new administration The narrowing margins may signal a shift in public sentiment driven by unusually strong Democratic enthusiasm as the party poured millions into the races Democrats hoped that backlash to the presidents overhaul of federal agencies and firing of federal workers would carve into the GOPs margins at the pollsTrump congratulated both candidates late Tuesday and said his endorsement helped them secure a victoryTHE TRUMP ENDORSEMENT AS ALWAYS PROVED FAR GREATER THAN THE DEMOCRATS FORCES OF EVIL CONGRATULATIONS TO AMERICA he said on his Truth Social platformThe mood was celebratory at a waterfront restaurant in Pensacola where congratulatory text messages were already lighting up Patronis phone as early results were posted Tuesday night Patronis worked the crowd of about 100 people shaking hands and giving hugs his wife Katie and two sons in towRepublicans including Gov Ron DeSantis had been saying that Fines underperformance should not be taken as a referendum on Trump calling it a candidatespecific issue However early returns in the other district were showing that Patronis was also failing to match the large margins from NovemberFine a selfdescribed conservative firebrand had faced growing pressure during the races final days as some Republicans publicly criticized his campaign and fundraising efforts questioning whether this race would embarrass Republicans less than 100 days into Trumps administration Weils campaign raised an eyepopping USD 9 million compared to Fines USD 1 millionNational Democratic leaders have attributed Weils fundraising success to what they characterized as widespread outrage against Trump That outrage failed to materialize in large enough numbers to overturn the outcome foiling Democrats hope to pull off a huge upset that would have buoyed their partyFine was first elected to the Florida House in 2016 and ran each year as a representative until 2024 when he successfully won his election to the Florida Senate He is known for his support of Israel and his efforts to restrict LGBTQ rightsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever