Florida state senator Randy Fine, a Republican, won the special election for Florida’s 6th Congressional District on Tuesday in a race widely seen as a bellwether for the national popularity of Republicans.
A poll released in late March showing Fine’s lead within the margin of error and the 10-to-1 fundraising advantage enjoyed by his opponent, Joshua Weil, a Muslim, raised the possibility of Republicans dramatically underperforming U.S. President Donald Trump’s 30-point victory in the deep-red district in November.
The Associated Press called the race less than an hour after the polls closed at 7 p.m. With more than 95% of the votes counted at press time, Fine holds a 14-point lead over Weil.
Fine, whom Trump campaigned for in the final days of the race, thanked the president for his victory.
“Because of you, Mr. President,” Fine wrote. “I won’t let you down.”
Fine’s victory, along with the Republican win in Florida’s 1st Congressional District, will give some additional breathing room to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) who governs with a razor-thin majority.
The fragility of that majority was shown on Tuesday when Johnson lost a procedural vote in his attempt to bar proxy voting for members of Congress with newborn children.
Nine Republicans joined with every Democrat to defeat Johnson, who sent the House into recess and halted further votes until next week.
The two wins in Florida on Tuesday will bring the GOP majority in the House to 220-213.
The only Jewish Republican in the Florida legislature, Fine describes himself on his website as supporting pro-Israel legislation and “leading the fight against antisemitism and promoting a strong U.S.-Israel alliance.”
He and his opponent differed sharply in their views about the Jewish state, though both focused more on domestic political issues during the campaign.
Weil, who is a convert to Islam, accused Israel in 2021, when he was running for the U.S. Senate, of committing war crimes and called for an end to U.S. support for what he described in a social media post as “Israel’s state sanctioned violence against Palestinians.”
“We must be part of an international response to protect and save the Palestinian people,” he said in an election video. “Anything else is immoral.”
Fine and Weil exchanged heated recriminations in campaign ads and messages, with Fine labeling Weil an “Islamic extremist,” nicknaming him “Jihad Josh” and calling for Weil’s arrest.
“I call on law enforcement to immediately arrest ‘Jihad Josh’ Weil for voter intimidation and suppression,” Fine stated. “He may take his cues from Hamas, but he isn’t in Gaza anymore.”
Fine also criticized the timing of Weil’s conversion to Islam, calling him a “post 9/11 Muslim terror convert.” Weil converted to Islam in 2011 after marrying a Muslim woman in 2010.
Weil in turn ran an ad in the days before the vote labeling Fine as “radical and dangerous.”
“Fine is so unhinged and anti-American, he supports the idea that Social Security is the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time,” the ad said.
Fine wrote in response on social media that the ad was antisemitic.
“Josh Weil’s advertisement falsely labeling me ‘violent’ and ‘un-American’ is a blatant antisemitic attack on my Jewish faith,” Fine wrote. “Unfortunately, Weil’s antisemitic ad comes from his deep-seated hate of Israel and Jews.”
The Republican Jewish Coalition congratulated Fine on his victory, which will bring the number of Jewish Republicans in the House to four—a level last seen in the 1980s.
“The Republican Party continues to elevate Jewish American voices,” RJC national chairman Norm Coleman and CEO Matt Brooks stated. “That is why, election after election, more and more Jewish voters are moving to the GOP.”
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