Former presidential candidate runs to succeed Mike Waltz in Congress

The Special Election in Florida’s 6th Congressional District hasn’t been scheduled yet, but it’s attracting a field of candidates that includes at least one national candidate from the 2024 cycle.

As Dave Weigel reports, Randall Terry intends to run to fill the seat that U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz is relinquishing for a role in the Donald Trump White House.

Terry, known for his anti-abortion activism, got 5,831 votes statewide in the Presidential Election, finishing behind Trump, Kamala Harris, Jill Stein, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Chase Oliver, Claudia de la Cruz and Peter Sonski. And Terry got 12% of the vote when he challenged Democrat Alcee Hastings in Florida’s 20th Congressional District in 2012.

Overall, Terry raised a little more than $380,000 for his presidential run, but credits his television ads with helping to defeat Harris.

Terry isn’t the only political name of note getting ready to run. A current Lake County Commissioner is all but in as well.

Former state Rep. Anthony Sabatini, a repeat congressional candidate, says he’s “90% the way there” and “working on a few moving pieces” before entering the race.

Sabatini said former U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho told him that he wasn’t running, which gave Sabatini confidence to go forward.

Additionally, former Marion County School Board member Don Browning says he is running in the Special Election. He already had filed for 2026.

Browning, whom Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed to the School Board, brooked controversy during his term when a report found him guilty of “bullying and harassment,” as reported by the Ocala Gazette. The report was sent to the Governor, but no disciplinary action was taken.

Jacksonville City Councilman Rory Diamond has talked about running for the seat, meanwhile, and says he and his team have “lots of options” as of Thursday.

This race likely will be decided in the Republican Primary for all practical purposes.

Waltz won CD 6 with 66% of the vote this year, and in 2022 did even better, winning with more than 75% of the vote. Nearly 46% of the electorate is registered to the Republican Party. Meanwhile, less than 27% of voters are Democrats, according to the most recent L2 voter data.