TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Two Republicans endorsed by President Donald Trump easily won their Florida special election primaries Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, setting both Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine on a path to bolster the thin margins of the GOP-controlled House as it tries to enact President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Patronis, the state’s chief financial officer, won a crowded primary for a Northwest Florida seat that also featured a former state legislator as well as a Navy veteran who unsuccessfully challenged then-Rep. Matt Gaetz in a primary last year.
Fine, a state senator who has clashed at times with Gov. Ron DeSantis, easily won his primary in the race to succeed former Rep. Michael Waltz. Waltz stepped down from his north central Florida seat to become Trump’s national security adviser.
Neither Republican lives in their district, but that didn’t seem to blunt their path to primary victory.
Patronis, whose family runs a famed restaurant in Panama City, has been a mainstay in Panhandle politics who spent time in the Florida Legislature before then-Gov. Rick Scott appointed him to his state post. Patronis subsequently won two statewide elections and had been mulling a run for governor before jumping into the race for Congress.
Gaetz, who easily won a fifth term last November, stepped down after Trump picked him to be attorney general. But Gaetz withdrew from consideration amid growing concerns about a House ethics investigation into allegations Gaetz had sex with a minor, among other claims. He has denied all wrongdoing.
Patronis has been generally supportive of Trump but stayed on the sidelines when DeSantis challenged Trump in the Republican presidential primary. He didn’t endorse Trump until DeSantis exited the race. But Patronis also called for using state taxpayer money to help pay Trump’s legal bills before the governor publicly said he would veto the proposal.
Patronis was going to be term-limited out of office in two years, but a run for governor could have been difficult given wide dissatisfaction in Florida over rising property insurance rates. Patronis is one of the top state officials who oversees state insurance regulators.
Fine has amassed a reliably Republican and conservative voting record while in the Legislature, but he has clashed with Gov. Ron DeSantis especially after he flipped his presidential endorsement from DeSantis to Trump in late 2023. The move angered members of DeSantis’ inner circle; Fine publicly asserted that the governor wasn’t doing enough to battle antisemitism.
Trump endorsed both Patronis and Fine last year and emphasized his support for them last week. The GOP pair also got backing from many Republicans in Washington and significantly outraised their opponents. Patronis used his cash advantage to spend money on television ads, including one that highlighted the Trump endorsement.
Both Patronis and Fine will now advance to the April 1 special election, where they are expected to be heavy favorites in the solid Republican districts.
