Two Trump-backed Republicans won special congressional elections in Florida on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, shoring up their party鈥檚 slim majority in the House at a crucial moment for President Trump鈥檚 domestic agenda.
Jimmy Patronis, the state鈥檚 chief financial officer, won the race to replace Matt Gaetz in the First Congressional District, on the western end of the Panhandle. With most of the vote counted late Tuesday, Mr. Patronis had won 57 percent.
And State Senator Randy Fine captured the Sixth District seat that had been held by Michael Waltz, now Mr. Trump鈥檚 national security adviser. That district is rooted in Daytona Beach and parts of the northeast coast. Mr. Fine had 56.7 percent of the vote as of 9 p.m.
Both seats had been expected to remain in Republican hands, though some showed Mr. Fine facing a close contest against Josh Weil, his Democratic opponent. Mr. Weil and Gay Valimont, the Democrat who ran against Mr. Patronis, each raised millions of dollars for their campaigns despite the Democrats鈥� struggles in Florida.
Mr. Gaetz resigned from his House seat last year after Mr. Trump nominated him to be attorney general. He later withdrew from consideration for that post, amid an ethics investigation of sexual misconduct and drug use.
Both Mr. Patronis and Mr. Fine cleared their respective primary fields easily after securing Mr. Trump鈥檚 endorsement. Mr. Trump won both districts by double-digit margins in November.
Even so, as the special election on Tuesday drew near, some Republicans voiced concern about Mr. Fine鈥檚 race. Steve Bannon, a top ally of Mr. Trump, warned on his show 鈥淲ar Room鈥� that 鈥渨e have a candidate that I don鈥檛 think is winning.鈥�
Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican who represented the Sixth Congressional District before running for statewide office, predicted that 鈥渋t鈥檚 going to be a way underperformance鈥� for his party, compared with previous elections.
Yet the race was called by The Associated Press just half an hour after the polls closed, as Republican elected officials and supporters of Mr. Fine were still ordering from a food truck at The 2A Ranch in Ormond Beach, Fla., where his campaign was holding a watch party.
They celebrated the results inside a barn decorated with hundreds of pieces of Trump memorabilia, including flags, dozens of paintings of Mr. Trump and life-size mannequins.
鈥淢r. President, this win is yours far more than it is mine,鈥� Mr. Fine declared.
Mr. Fine鈥檚 margin 鈥� about 14 points with nearly all of the votes counted as of 9 p.m. 鈥� was less than half of Mr. Waltz鈥檚 in November. Mr. Weil, in a statement after the results, called it 鈥渁n incredible gain鈥� for Democrats and 鈥渁 warning sign鈥� to Mr. Trump and his allies that voters would not support cuts to health care programs and Social Security, among others.
The Democratic National Committee pointed to Mr. Patronis鈥檚 similar margin in the Panhandle district, one of the most conservative in the state, as evidence that 鈥渢he momentum is on our side.鈥�
Ken Martin, the chairman of the D.N.C., said of Mr. Patronis鈥檚 Democratic opponent: 鈥淗er massive overperformance鈥� in a district that Mr. Trump won by 37 percentage points last fall 鈥渋s the best performance for Democrats in the district this century and spells trouble for Republicans everywhere.鈥�
Mr. Fine, a former gambling lobbyist and pugnacious state representative, is the only Jewish Republican in the Florida Legislature. He when he endorsed Mr. Trump instead of Mr. DeSantis in the Republican presidential primary last year, saying he thought that Mr. Trump would be a better ally against antisemitism.
鈥淣o one is better positioned to take up the mantle for Florida families, small business owners and workers,鈥� Maureen O鈥橳oole, a spokeswoman for the House Republican campaign arm, said of Mr. Fine.
Mr. Patronis, she said in a separate statement, will be 鈥渁 strong voice for Floridians with our Republican majority in Congress.鈥�
With control of the House teetering, restoring Republican votes for the two vacant seats will be important as the party over a domestic policy package, which is expected to include significant cuts to spending and taxes. Democrats are expected to unanimously oppose the plan, meaning that House Republicans can barely spare any votes.
With the outcomes of the two races on Tuesday, there will now be 220 Republicans and 213 Democrats in the chamber, with two vacancies still to be filled in Arizona and Texas.
Republican concerns about their narrow margin of control in the House 鈥� and about Mr. Fine鈥檚 race in particular 鈥� grew to the point that on Thursday, Mr. Trump asked Representative Elise Stefanik of New York to to be ambassador to the United Nations, and to remain in Congress instead.
This article originally appeared in. 漏 2025 The New York Times
