Ron DeSantis says Randy Fine doesn’t live in CD 6, voters can ‘quibble’ about Donald Trump endorsing him

Gov. Ron DeSantis cast some last-minute aspersions against the congressional campaign of state Sen. Randy Fine, suggesting there was room to question why President Donald Trump endorsed him in Florida’s 6th Congressional District.

DeSantis said an “underperformance” by Fine represented “a rejection of the specific candidate amongst some voters who either choose not to vote, maybe even vote third party,” though he questioned how many voters would cross over to support “lunatic Democrat” Josh Weil.

DeSantis, who has warned previously of a “candidate-specific” problem in the Daytona-centered district, noted that Fine’s credibility issues extend to residency, as the Melbourne Republican didn’t even live in the district when he began his run to replace National Security Adviser Mike Waltz in Tuesday’s Special Election.

“Remember, he’s not from that district. He lives like 150 miles away,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis also said that while people “can quibble with Trump endorsing or not,” it’s a separate issue than Fine’s own deficiencies as a candidate.

“I think it’s more of a local reason. I think it’s going to be more of a candidate specific reason. I don’t think if there’s an underperformance that that’s a referendum on the President. I think (if) the President was on the ballot, I think he would win by 30 again,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis and Fine have feuded since late 2023, when Fine accused the Governor of coddling neo-Nazis. DeSantis pointed to his record on Israel and other issues important to people of the Jewish faith in arguing that Fine was just looking to make a name for himself.

However, the Governor appears to have helped Fine to some small degree.

Fine’s campaign spokesperson said last month he appreciated DeSantis “deploying his team” to help out in the stretch run of the campaign. However, that help is less public than the tele-town hall events staged with President Trump and U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds in recent days.