Far-right state Sen. Randy Fine was supposed to walk to an easy victory in a special election for a north-central Florida congressional district that President Donald Trump won by around 30 points last year.
But Republicans have privately groused this week that he could blow it. And now they're pulling the fire alarm in earnest, CNN reported on Thursday evening.
Fine, who sponsored Florida's infamous "Don't Say Gay" bill censoring LGBTQ identity in schools, is running for the seat vacated by Mike Waltz when he left to become Trump's National Security Adviser — and who is now fighting for his own political life in the wake of the Signal scandal.
"A top adviser to Trump reached out directly to state Sen. Randy Fine, with a message that he needed to get his house in order and get on the airwaves, a White House source told CNN. And some Republican leaders were even more blunt. House GOP campaign chief Rep. Richard Hudson and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer each separately told Fine to 'get his s--- together,' according to two GOP sources working closely on the race," reported Sarah Ferris, Arit John, David Wright and Steve Contorno.
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Florida's 6th Congressional District, which stretches from Daytona Beach and the northern exurbs of Orlando in the south to near St. Augustine in the north, was not on anyone's radar as a district Democrats would seriously compete for just a couple months ago.
But Fine has found himself outraised roughly 10 to 1 by Democratic candidate Josh Weil, a schoolteacher who has campaigned on the cost of living and protecting Social Security and Medicare. Polling has found the race within the margin of error.
Speaking to CNN, Weil said, “I’m grateful for the hundreds of thousands of Floridians and regular Americans who still believe in a better future.”
According to CNN, House Democratic strategists privately do not expect the race to end up as close as polls are suggesting — but they do think Weil will substantially overperform, and are hopeful it's a sign of an emerging "blue wave" election similar to the one that cost Republicans their House majority in 2018.
“If he overperforms by 5, and you apply that to the rest of the battlefield, you win 15 seats,” one source said.
