Jacob Ogles
Early voting is kicking off Saturday in Special Elections for two vacant Florida congressional seats.
The races will be decided after votes are counted on April 1, the date of the Special Election. But voters in Florida’s 1st and 6th Congressional Districts can now cast in-person votes.
While both those districts lean heavily Republican, Democrats have directed millions into the contests, eager to wage battle for open seats months after President Donald Trump took office.
In CD 1, Republican Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, faces Democrat Gay Valimont, a Moms Demand Action activist. Stephen Broden will also appear on the ballot without party affiliation. The winner will succeed former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Fort Walton Republican who now hosts a show on One America News Network.
Meanwhile, voters in CD 6 will choose between Republican Randy Fine, a state Senator, and Democrat Josh Weil, a schoolteacher. Libertarian Andrew Parrott and independent Randall Terry also qualified for the ballot. The victor will replace former U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz.
Both Special Elections came out as a direct result of Trump’s election as President. Trump named three members of the U.S. House to positions in his administration, including two from Florida. Waltz resigned to become the National Security Adviser. Gaetz initially gave up his seat after Trump nominated him for Attorney General, though he withdrew from consideration amid an ethics investigation and chose not to return to Congress.
In the case of the Florida seats, both districts lean heavily Republican.
As of the March 3 closing of voter rolls, CD 1 was home to around 312,000 Republicans registered and eligible to vote in the election, compared to fewer than 119,000 Democrats and about 136,000 registered without party affiliation or with minor parties.
Meanwhile, CD 6 had more than 273,000 Republicans registered, compared to just over 142,000 Democrats, while another more than 143,000 other voters.
But the Special Elections also mark the first chance for Democrats to send a message about Trump, and have responded by sending millions more than normally would be spent in safe GOP seats.
The Democratic National Committee announced a coordinated campaign with the Florida Democratic Party to invest in the races and deploy 200 poll watchers and poll greeters in the two districts.
Additionally, Weil and Valimont have reported a flood of small donations. After the end of the last fundraising period on March 12, Valimont reported $6.5 million in total contributions compared to Patronis’ $2.1 million. She closed the period with $2.1 million to spend the last 20 days of the race, compared to Patronis’ nearly $815,000.
The situation was more lopsided in CD 6, where Weil reported upward of $9.5 million to Fine’s under $1 million. Perhaps more relevant, Fine had less than $93,000 still in the bank to Weil’s $1.3 million, and the Democrat said he has seen hundreds of thousands more in donations pour in since the Federal Election Commission deadline.
Of course, the Republican Party of Florida has also provided support to its candidates, including a $600,000 ad buy in CD 6 to boost Fine.
