2025 Florida's 6th congressional district special election
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| Elections in Florida |
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The 2025 Florida's 6th congressional district special election was held on April 1, 2025, to choose a new member of the U.S. House of Representatives.[1] The seat became vacant following the resignation of Republican incumbent Mike Waltz, who in 2024 had been re-elected with 66.5% of the vote, but was chosen by President Donald Trump to be his White House national security advisor.[2] It is considered a safely Republican district.
Florida state senator Randy Fine won the Republican primary with 83% of the vote, defeating Aaron Baker and Ehsan Joarder. Schoolteacher Josh Weil won the Democratic primary with 61%, defeating Ges Selmont.[3] In the general election campaign, Weil outraised Fine by $10 million to under $1 million.[4]
In the April 1 general election, Fine defeated Weil by 14 percentage points, 57%–43%.[5][6] Despite national media predicting a narrow election and even a potential Democratic flip due to Weil's massive fundraising haul and close polling,[7] Fine easily won the district and was projected the winner almost immediately after polls closed,[8] though he won by significantly less than Trump and Waltz had in the 2024 elections, which was attributed to the higher likelihood of Democratic voters to turn out in special elections.[9] The election was held alongside a concurrent special election for Florida's 1st congressional district.
Republican primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Nominee
[edit]- Randy Fine, former state senator from the 19th district (2024–2025)[10]
Eliminated in primary
[edit]- Aaron Baker[11]
- Ehsan Joarder, IT specialist and candidate for the 14th district in 2024[11]
Withdrawn
[edit]- Ernest Audino, district director for incumbent Michael Waltz[12]
- Joe Mullins, former Flagler County commissioner (endorsed Fine)[12]
- Steve Rance, Air Force veteran (endorsed Fine)[13]
Declined
[edit]- Tom Leek, state senator from the 7th district (2024–present)[14]
- Anthony Sabatini, Lake County commissioner (2024–present), chair of the Lake County Republican Party (2022–present), and candidate for the 7th district in 2022 and the 11th district in 2024[15]
- Ted Yoho, former U.S. representative from Florida's 3rd congressional district (2013–2021)[16]
Endorsements
[edit]Randy Fine
- Executive branch officials
- Donald Trump, 45th and 47th president of the United States (2017–2021, 2025–present)[17]
- Mike Waltz, U.S. national security advisor (2025–present) and former U.S. representative from Florida's 6th congressional district (2019–2025)[18]
- U.S. senators
- Rick Scott, U.S. senator from Florida (2019–present)[19]
- U.S. representatives
- Tom Emmer, House Majority Whip (2023–present) from Minnesota's 6th congressional district (2015–present)[19]
- Mike Johnson, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (2023–present) from Louisiana's 4th congressional district (2017–present)[19]
- Steve Scalise, House majority leader (2023–present) from Louisiana's 1st congressional district (2008–present)[19]
- Organizations
Results
[edit]
Fine
- 70–80%
- 80–90%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Randy Fine | 33,901 | 83.0 | |
| Republican | Aaron Baker | 5,735 | 14.0 | |
| Republican | Ehsan Joarder | 1,201 | 2.9 | |
| Total votes | 40,837 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic primary
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Nominee
[edit]- Josh Weil, teacher[22]
Eliminated in primary
[edit]- Ges Selmont, attorney and nominee for the 4th district in 2018[11]
Withdrawn
[edit]- Purvi Bangdiwala, pharmacist[23]
Results
[edit]
Weil
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Weil | 9,721 | 60.7 | |
| Democratic | Ges Selmont | 6,283 | 39.3 | |
| Total votes | 16,004 | 100.0 | ||
Third parties and independents
[edit]Libertarian Party
[edit]Nominee
[edit]- Andrew Parrott, welder[11]
Independents
[edit]Declared
[edit]- Randall Terry, author, perennial candidate, and Constitution Party nominee for president in 2024[24]
Write-in candidates
[edit]Declared
[edit]General election
[edit]Endorsements
[edit]Randy Fine (R)
Josh Weil (D)
- U.S. senators
- Bernie Sanders, U.S. senator from Vermont (2007–present) (Independent)[27]
- Party officials
- Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party (2023–present)[28]
- Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee (2025–present)[29]
- Individuals
- Le'Andria Johnson, singer[30]
- Killer Mike, rapper[31]
- Patti LaBelle, singer[30]
- Organizations
Polling
[edit]| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Randy Fine (R) |
Josh Weil (D) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fabrizio Ward (R)[33][A] | March 28, 2025 | – | – | 41% | 44% | 5% | 10% |
| St. Pete Polls[35][B] | March 22–25, 2025 | 403 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 48% | 44% | 2%[b] | 6% |
Fundraising
[edit]| Campaign finance reports as of March 12, 2025 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
| Randy Fine (R) | $987,459 | $894,765 | $92,693 |
| Josh Weil (D) | $9,491,734 | $8,210,682 | $1,281,051 |
| Source: Federal Election Commission[36] | |||
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Randy Fine | 110,764 | 56.66% | −9.87% | |
| Democratic | Josh Weil | 83,485 | 42.71% | +9.24% | |
| Libertarian | Andrew Parrott | 701 | 0.36% | N/A | |
| Independent | Randall Terry | 525 | 0.27% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 195,475 | 100.0% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
See also
[edit]- 2025 United States House of Representatives elections
- List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives
Notes
[edit]Partisan clients
- ^ The poll was a GOP poll that had been conducted by Fabrizio Ward in late March.[34]
- ^ Poll sponsored by Florida Politics
References
[edit]- ^ "Special elections set for U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz's seat in Florida". CBS News. November 25, 2024. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
- ^ Schnell, Mychael (January 20, 2025). "Waltz resigns from House to take on Trump national security role". The Hill. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
- ^ "Florida Sixth Congressional District Special Primary Election Results," The New York Times.
- ^ "Trump-backed Randy Fine elected to Congress in tense Florida special election ," Politico.
- ^ "Florida Sixth District Special Election Results," The New York Times.
- ^ "Florida Republican defeats Democrat in US House special election". BBC. April 1, 2025. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
- ^ Manchester, Julia (April 1, 2025). "Republican Randy Fine wins Florida special election for Waltz seat". The Hill. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Oppenheim, Oren. "Republicans win in both House special elections in Florida". ABC News. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
- ^ Marcus, Ilana; Zhang, Christine; Lemonides, Alex (March 28, 2025). "Tracking Each Party's Turnout for Tuesday's Special House Elections". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
- ^ Lemongello, Stephen (November 26, 2024). "GOP firebrand Randy Fine running for Congress after Trump endorsement". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Ogles, Jacob (December 7, 2024). "Nine candidates qualify for race to replace Mike Waltz in CD 6". Florida Politics. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
- ^ a b Gollon, Chris (November 30, 2024). "Joe Mullins Drops Congressional Bid as Trump Endorses Randy Fine". AskFlagler. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
- ^ Harper, Mark (November 27, 2024). "Trump endorsement of Randy Fine for Florida's 6th District sends other Republicans packing". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
- ^ Wilson, Drew (November 13, 2024). "Tom Leek committed to serving in Florida Senate, will not run for Congress". Florida Politics. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
- ^ Ogles, Jacob (November 26, 2024). "Anthony Sabatini won't run in CD 6 Special Election". Florida Politics. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Harper, Mark (November 21, 2024). "Calling it 'year of the comeback,' Trump supporter Joe Mullins announces run for Congress". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
Former Congressman Ted Yoho...told The News-Journal on Thursday that he had initially considered running, but had decided against it.
- ^ Gancarski, A.G. (November 23, 2024). "Donald Trump backs Randy Fine as replacement for Mike Waltz in CD 6". Florida Politics. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
- ^ Gancarski, A.G. (January 17, 2025). "Mike Waltz backs Randy Fine as CD 6 replacement". Florida Politics. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Ogles, Jacob (November 26, 2024). "Rick Scott, Mike Johnson endorse Randy Fine for Congress". Florida Politics. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Kornbluh, Jacob (March 27, 2025). "A Jewish Republican and Muslim Democrat are suddenly in a tight race for a special seat in Congress". The Forward. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
- ^ a b "Florida Sixth Congressional District Special Primary Election Results". The New York Times. January 28, 2025. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
- ^ Harper, Mark (December 3, 2024). "Osceola teacher runs as Democrat in special U.S. House election in Florida's 6th". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
- ^ Harper, Mark (December 27, 2024). "Candidate for Florida's 6th District who swore she was a Democrat but isn't withdraws". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
- ^ Gancarski, A.G. (November 21, 2024). "Former presidential candidate runs to succeed Mike Waltz in Congress". Florida Politics. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
- ^ "Florida Small Businesses Endorse Randy Fine for Election to Congress". National Federation of Independent Business. March 20, 2025. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
- ^ "U.S. Chamber Endorses Candidate Randy Fine for Florida's 6th Congressional District". United States Chamber of Commerce. March 25, 2025. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
- ^ Manchester, Julia (March 28, 2025). "Sanders endorses Democrat in contested Florida special House race". The Hill. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
- ^ Ogles, Jacob (March 27, 2025). "DNC Chair Ken Martin to campaign for Josh Weil ahead of CD 6 Special Election". Florida Politics. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
- ^ Ogles, Jacob (March 27, 2025). "DNC Chair Ken Martin to campaign for Josh Weil ahead of CD 6 Special Election". Florida Politics. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
- ^ a b Harper, Mark (March 28, 2025). "Shaboozey not joining Killer Mike to support Democratic congressional candidate in DeLand". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
- ^ "Hip-hop star Killer Mike endorses Democrat Josh Weil in April 1 Florida Congress election". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
- ^ "Editorial: For Congressional District 6, Josh Weil has the right answers". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
The Orlando Sentinel endorses Josh Weil for Congressional District 6.
- ^ Weisz, Zac (March 27, 2025). "Chain reaction: Why Trump pulled Stefanik's UN nomination". GZERO. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
Eye on the poll: An internal Republican poll from March has Weil leading Fine 44% to 41%, according to a source familiar with the race, with 10% undecided.
- ^ Howard, Andrew; Mutnick, Ally; Jacobs, Ben (March 28, 2025). "Stefanik's withdrawal suggests Republicans are sweating their thin margins". Politico.
- ^ Florell, Matt (March 26, 2025). "Florida U.S. Congressional District 6 Special Election survey conducted for FloridaPolitics.com" (PDF). St. Pete Polls. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
- ^ "Florida - House District 06". fec.gov. Federal Election Commission. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
External links
[edit]- Official campaign websites