According to the Associated Press, Sen. Randy Fine has won the special election for Florida Congressional District 6, replacing Mike Waltz.
His opponent, Josh Weil, released the following statement after the results came in.
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The numbers didn’t add up in our favor today. We shouldn’t be disappointed however, this race was closer than anyone ever imagined. In a district won by Mike Walz by 32 points, we closed that gap by a historic margin. An incredible gain. This progress is because of our grassroots supporters across the country and the voters in this district – Democrats, Republicans, and Independents -- who believe in a brighter and kinder future. This result is also a warning sign to Donald Trump, Randy Fine, and the unelected oligarchs taking apart the government. Should they continue to steal people’s hard-earned money and benefits like Social Security and Medicare, defund education, focus more on culture wars than lowering costs: the backlash is only beginning.
As a public school math teacher, I started this campaign for my boys and my students and their families. We all deserve to live in a community that cares about each other and everyone has the opportunity to thrive. On the campaign trail, I was reminded that most people want these same things. They want an elected official who will do right by their community and serve the community’s interest. While we didn’t win today, I hope that message resonates.
Thank you to everyone who supported us these last three and a half months and thank you to all who voted and considered our message. It’s been an honor to run this campaign.
Democratic candidate for FL Congressional District 6 Josh Weil
Waltz resigned from Congress on Jan. 20 to join the Trump administration as national security advisor.
Waltz represented District 6, which includes all of Flagler and Putnam counties, as well as parts of St. Johns, Lake, Marion, and Volusia counties.
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On Nov. 25, after Waltz was named to the post, Gov. Ron DeSantis set Tuesday’s special election for the seat, with a primary previously being held on Jan. 28.
State. Sen. Randy Fine won the Republican primary, and Josh Weil won the Democratic primary.
Fine received President Donald Trump’s endorsement, and Weil received an endorsement from Sen. Bernie Sanders.
RELATED: Florida Republicans face off against well-funded Democrats in US House special elections
For the general election, two additional candidates appeared on the ballot along with Fine and Weil: Libertarian candidate Andrew Parrott, and Randall Terry, who is running without party affiliation.
National poll observers believed it could be a close race despite a Republican winning the seat by 30 points last November.
RELATED: Race for House seat vacated by Michael Waltz closer than many experts expected, new poll shows | What to expect in Florida’s special elections
St. Johns County Supervisor of Elections Vicky Oakes expected a good turnout on Tuesday.
While the full county has 240,000 registered voters, District 6 represents just 33,000 of those.
“It’s the southern part of St. Johns County that is Congressional District 6,” Oakes said. “So let me recommend to voters, take a minute to go to our website and use the search tool that’s available there to look up your address before you head out to the polls, see if you are eligible to vote.”
Another special election
At the same time, a special election was held in a portion of the Florida Panhandle to replace Rep. Matt Gaetz, who represented District 1.
Gaetz submitted his resignation from Congress when he was nominated to be attorney general in the Trump administration. After withdrawing his name from consideration for the post, due to growing scrutiny, he said he would not return to Congress.
The District 1 election was won by now-former Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, who also won a crowded Republican primary in January. He defeated Democrat Gay Valimont and Stephen Broden, who was running without party affiliation.