Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called out state Rep. Randy Fine for “an underperformance by more than 50%” despite Florida Republicans winning two key special elections for the U.S. House Tuesday.
During a Wednesday interview on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom,” DeSantis said he thinks Fine “was in dire straits a few weeks ago” due to his record of being “a squish Republican.”
The governor pointed to Fine’s vote to make Florida a “de facto sanctuary state” for illegal aliens, his opposition to DeSantis’s immigration efforts, and the “late” financial support he received from the Republican base as reasons for the “underperformance.”
DeSantis credited President Donald Trump for Republican turnout at the polls, saying, “I think that this was trending to probably [be] a single-digit race, and then I think the president did a couple tele-town halls and election day turnout in that district was really, really strong for Republicans.”
He added, “[Republican voters] didn’t really like the candidate, but when the president phoned it in, they said, all right, we’re gonna go do it.”
In Florida’s First Congressional District, former chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis defeated Democrat Gay Valimont by a margin of about 15 percentage points. In the Sixth District, former state senator Fine beat Democrat Josh Weil by about 14 points. Fine succeeds Republican Michael Waltz, who left the House to become Trump’s national security advisor.
Weil’s campaign raised about 10 times more money than Fine’s, leading to pre-election concerns among Republicans about maintaining the hotly contested House seat.
The Republican margin in the House now sits at 220-213, a razor-thin majority. A party must hold a minimum of 218 seats to pass legislation in the House.
“BOTH FLORIDA HOUSE SEATS HAVE BEEN WON, BIG, BY THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE. THE TRUMP ENDORSEMENT, AS ALWAYS, PROVED FAR GREATER THAN THE DEMOCRATS FORCES OF EVIL. CONGRATULATIONS TO AMERICA!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social following the win.
This is not the first time DeSantis has spoken against Fine. DeSantis released a statement in February about why he opposed Fine’s immigration bill CS/SB 2-B.
“I have vetoed CS/SB 2-B because stronger, more aggressive bills have been produced that will further establish Florida as the nation’s leader in immigration policy,” DeSantis wrote. He backed two other bills which “address the deficiencies” of Fine’s bill.
