MIAMI — Republican candidates have won in two special Congressional elections in Florida, helping the GOP retain its narrow majority in the U.S. House.
In the First Congressional District in Florida's panhandle, the state's former chief financial officer, Jimmy Patronis, defeated Democrat Gay Valimont. In the Sixth District, along Florida's east coast, former state senator Randy Fine beat Democrat Josh Weil.
Republicans have a substantial registration edge in both districts. But the results were far closer than those seen in November, suggesting voters may be unhappy with Republicans, President Trump and his agenda.
In the First district in the area around Pensacola, Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz defeated Valimont by 32 points in November. President Trump nominated Gaetz to be his Attorney General. Gaetz later withdrew and left Congress, leaving his seat open. Patronis jumped into the race but was heavily outraised by Valimont, who drew support from Democrats across the country. Patronis' margin of victory was about 15 percentage points, 17 points lower than that seen by Gaetz in November.
In the Sixth district in central Florida, Fine beat Weil by about 14 points. That's a significantly narrower margin than that seen by then-Congressman Mike Waltz in November. Waltz defeated his Democratic opponent by 33 points. He left the seat vacant when he was named Trump's national security adviser. Weil raised ten times more money for his campaign than Fine and Democrats hoped they could pull out a victory in a red district.
Despite the losses, Democrats are celebrating what they're calling "historic performances."
The chair of the state's Democratic party, Nikki Fried said, "Florida Democrats just put the Republican Party on notice. Tonight's results represent a historic overperformance for Democrats and show that voters are already rejecting Trump's extreme agenda."
President Trump endorsed both Republican candidates. On Tuesday night, Fine highlighted Trump's social media post on the victory, adding, "Because of you, Mr. President. I won't let you down."
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