Florida Democrats view special congressional election results as encouraging, despite loss | FOX 51 Gainesville
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Florida Democrats view special congressional election results as encouraging, despite loss

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Published  April 2, 2025 10:32pm EDT
Politics
FOX 35 Orlando

Democrats see special elections as encouraging

Randy Fine won Florida’s 6th Congressional Seat in a special election, defeating his Democratic opponent by 14 points. Democrats saw the narrower-than-expected margin as a sign of potential gains, while Fine dismissed concerns of underperformance.

The Brief

    • Randy Fine won Florida’s 6th Congressional Seat in a special election, defeating his Democratic opponent by 14 points.
    • Democrats saw the narrower-than-expected margin as a sign of potential gains, while Fine dismissed concerns of underperformance.
    • The race reflects Florida’s Republican shift but also growing Democratic enthusiasm.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Randy Fine is ending his time as a state lawmaker and headed for the big leagues in the United States Congress. However, his margin of victory was lower than when Mike Waltz won the seat in November.

Are Democrats making inroads in ruby-red Florida districts?

What we know:

Randy Fine has won Florida’s 6th Congressional Seat in a special election, defeating his Democratic opponent by approximately 14 points. His victory marks the transition from his role as a State Representative to Congress, where he acknowledges the responsibility of proving himself over the next two years. 

The Republican advantage in voter registration and shifting demographics contributed to Fine’s win.

Still, Mike Waltz won the same district by twice the percentage points just four months ago.

What we don't know:

While Fine secured a decisive victory, the relatively narrow margin for such a strong Republican district raises questions about future elections. The long-term impact of Democratic gains in voter turnout, as well as how Fine’s performance in Congress will influence the district’s political landscape, remains uncertain.

The backstory:

Florida’s 6th Congressional District has been a historically Republican stronghold, since redistricting, bolstered by increased GOP voter registration and shifting political allegiances among Latino voters. Democrats typically perform better in special elections due to increased enthusiasm, but Republican dominance in the district ultimately prevailed. 

Former President Donald Trump, who won the district by a much larger margin, endorsed Fine, further solidifying his campaign.

Big picture view:

Fine’s win underscores Florida’s shift toward Republican control in recent years, with voter registration and migration patterns favoring the GOP. However, Democrats view their improved performance as a sign of potential momentum in future elections, both in Florida and nationwide. The election highlights broader national trends in voter engagement and party strategy leading up to 2024’s general elections.

What they're saying:

Randy Fine is ending his time as a state lawmaker and headed to Congress.

"Now it’s incumbent upon me in the next 2 years to show you I am worthy of that trust," he said after the victory announcement. "And I know there’s a lot of work to do."

He beat out his Democratic opponent by about 14 percentage points in Tuesday’s special election. Florida’s Democratic Party Chair, Nikki Fried, is saying that’s a surprising and comparatively narrow margin.

"Even if we weren’t to have an actual electoral win last night, that moving the needle in Florida in these very ruby-red districts showed the nation what is possible — not just in Florida, but across the country," Fried said.

That’s not how Representative Fine sees it.

"I think it’s hard to say that’s an under-performance by any stretch of the word," he told FOX 35.

John Hanley, an Associate Lecturer in Political Science at UCF, says Democrats were hoping to kind of sneak this one through.

"Democrats had more enthusiasm, slash anger — they were more excited about this," said Hanley.

Hanley says Florida Republicans have done a lot of work in registering voters to their party recently. Plus, there’s been a large migration of red voters to the state of Florida, and the Latino community has been leaning further right.

"Those factors have kind of added up to a set of pretty substantial Republican gains," Hanley said.

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The Source: This story was written based on information shared by Congressman Randy Fine, Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried, and John Hanley, an Associate Lecturer in Political Science at UCF.

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