Republican Randy Fine Wins Election to Replace Former Rep. Mike Waltz

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Republican state Sen. Randy Fine beat Democrat Joshua Weil in Florida’s 6th Congressional District in a special election on Tuesday to replace Michael Waltz, who is now President Donald Trump’s national security adviser.

Fine’s win, which increases the GOP’s majority in Congress to 219–213, was called at 7:33 p.m. ET with Fine clinching more than 53 percent of the roughly 144,000 votes cast.



Polls closed at 7 p.m. ET.

The seat became available after Trump selected Waltz to join his Cabinet shortly after winning his second term as president. Waltz had won his own re-election last November by a margin of more than 30 percent over his challenger, Democrat James Stockton. Unlike Republican state chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis in Florida’s 1st Congressional District special election, Fine did not face a crowded primary to clinch the GOP nomination.

He squared off against two fellow Republicans. Patronis faced nine challengers. The 1st District seat became available after Rep.

Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) resigned for a brief bid at becoming Trump’s attorney general. Fine and Patronis both received nods from Trump, who urged voters to hit the polls on Tuesday.

Before Tuesday, Republicans held a 218–213 majority in the House of Representatives. Fine’s victory gives them one additional seat, and Patronis will add another if he prevails over his opponent, Democrat Gay Valimont. The Democratic National Committee had invested in both races, funding more than 200 poll watchers and Election Day greeters throughout the two districts.

Voters in District 6 who spoke to The Epoch Times were split on the direction the country is headed. Some expressed deep concerns with Trump. Daniel Hulse, 57, of Daytona Beach, is a lifelong Republican but says he is frustrated with his party.

“They went to ‘hell in a handbasket’ years ago, soon as [Trump] got into office,” Hulse told The Epoch Times. Hulse supported former Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) in the 2012 presidential election and backed Weil over Fine.

He said his biggest concerns are the spending cuts recommended by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which he says he fears will eventually affect entitlements such as Social Security and Medicaid. Barbara Bay of St. Augustine, who also supported Weil, said she fears Congress isn’t exercising authority over DOGE.

“Congress needs to be Congress again and needs to check Trump right now,” she told The Epoch Times. “Everybody’s not checking the executive branch, and Congress has gone to lunch.” Gregg Wise, 71, and Melissa Paro, 70, from Daytona Beach, did not discuss their votes in Tuesday’s election but said they, too, were worried about recent cuts in government spending.

“They’re cutting with the hatchet instead of a scalpel,” Wise told The Epoch Times. Others, including Ricky Webb, 65, and Julia Webb, 59, said they felt better about the country’s direction as they lined up to vote for Fine on Tuesday. “[Republicans] need more breathing room” in Congress, Ricky Webb told The Epoch Times.

George Armstrong, 70, of Holly Hill, said he felt the country is “going great” now that Trump is back in office. “I know a lot of people are upset because he’s going slow on the economy, but I expect it to take a year to get it all going,” Armstrong told The Epoch Times. Making sure the Republicans don’t lose a seat in Congress was the biggest reason he came out to vote for Fine, he said.

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