This post has been updated to include the embeds for the correct special election race, Florida's 6th Congressional District.
Despite how Florida has become an increasingly red state, Democrats thought they had a chance in Tuesday's special elections, especially with the money they managed to raise. However, at 7:12pm, just minutes after the polls closed, Decision Desk HQ called the race in favor of state Sen. Randy Fine, who had also enjoyed President Donald Trump's endorsement.
Decision Desk HQ projects Republican Randy Fine wins the US House special election in Florida's 6th congressional district.#DecisionMade: 7:12 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/71WaWLJdvp
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) April 1, 2025
Fine is replacing Mike Waltz, a fellow Republican who resigned his seat on January 20 to serve as Trump's national security advisor. Waltz also endorsed Fine for this race. Before Waltz, now Gov. Ron DeSantis held the seat, though he left the House in September 2018 to focus on the governor's race.
With 61 percent of the vote reporting, Fine enjoys 53.4 percent of the vote to Democrat Joshua Weil's 45.9 percent. The district, which according to the The Cook Partisan Voting Index, was at R+14 in 2023, is not the most Republican district in the state's 28 congressional districts, but it is up there.
Trump won Florida during all three of his presidential runs, with the counties in the 6th Congressional District delivering him some of his biggest wins in the state. Last November, he won the district by 30 percentage points. Waltz won his race last November by 33 percent against his Democratic opponent.
Fine's win is just the first announced race for Tuesday night. Polls close at 8 pm ET for Florida's 1st Congressional District, where Florida's Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, a Republican, is running against Democrat Gay Valimont to replace now former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who resigned last November not long he was nominated to serve as Trump's attorney general, though he ended up withdrawing his name from consideration. There's also a state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin, as well as a ballot initiative over requiring voter ID. Polls close there at 9 pm ET.