Fla. GOP's Randy Fine Lags in Fundraising in House Race

Republicans are starting to sound the alarm that a special election in a deep red Florida district could be moving away from them.

Randy Fine, the GOP nominee, is running in Florida's 6th Congressional District to replace former Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., who resigned to become President Donald Trump's national security adviser.

Waltz won re-election by 33 points in November.

But Fine, a state legislator, has raised under $1 million and has just $93,000 left Punchbowl News reported. His Democrat challenger, Josh Well, has raised $9 million and has $1.2 million on hand, Punchbowl said.

The special election is scheduled for April 1.

"He needs to do better," Richard Hudson, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, told Punchbowl.

Hudson said the NRCC said it doesn't plan to spend in the race, confident Fine will win.

"I would have preferred it if our candidate had raised money at a faster rate and got on TV quicker, but he's doing what he needs to do," Hudson told Punchbowl. "He's on TV now. We're going to win the seat. I'm not concerned at all."

Fine has been calling Republican congressmen, pleading for campaign cash, Punchbowl said. He began running TV ads last week.

While Democrats aren't expecting to flip the seats, a single-digit margin of victory will be seen as a victory for the party, and could set them up for flipping the House in 2026.

"These are races that should not, under ordinary circumstances, be on anyone's political radar. They are safe Republican seats that Donald Trump won by more than 30 points," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told Punchbowl. "The American people are not buying what the Republicans are selling."

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