BY SARA WARD
A special election will be held on April 1, and it’s no laughing matter. No pranks, no jokes, just candidates Randy Fine and Josh Weil running intense political campaigns to be the next U.S. representative for the 6th Congressional District of Florida.
Where
The 6th Congressional District of Florida stretches from St. Augustine down the coast, and west all the way over to Eustis. This includes portions of West Volusia — everything east of I-4 north of Orange City — DeLand, DeLeon Springs, north Orange City, Pierson, Barberville and Astor.
Why
Candidates will be running to fill the vacancy left by Michael Waltz, who was selected by President Donald Trump to serve as his national security adviser. Waltz was certified the winner in the 6th Congressional District for the 119th Congress Nov. 19 and submitted his letter of resignation Nov. 24, according to the Florida Office of the Governor.
By law, a special election must be held to fill the vacancy.
Who
Randy Fine is the Republican candidate and current Florida state senator for District 19. He was a Harvard graduate and built and ran three companies, according to his website. Fine is pro-life, pro-gun, pro-government transparency, pro-Israel and pro-Social Security/Medicare. He has raised $426,712 in campaign donations.
Josh Weil is the Democratic candidate, who is a public school educator and a single dad to two boys, according to his website. Weil, a progressive Democrat, is pro-environment, pro-immigration overhaul and pro-school funding, among other things. Weil has raised $225,504 in campaign donations.
Fine did not respond to requests for comment. The Weil campaign scheduled an interview with The Beacon after the print deadline; this story will be updated Wednesday online.
Also seeking the 6th congressional seat is Libertarian candidate Andrew Parrott, a nonaffiliated candidate Randall Terry and write-in Independent candidate Chuck Sheridan.
PRESS CONFERENCE — Reading from his paper, Republican candidate Randy Fine calls Democratic opponent Josh Weil “Jihad” Josh and refers to a Weil campaign canvasser as a “transgender felon” at a press conference he held March 10. Weil was set to have a town hall in DeLand at 7 p.m. that day, which he was absent for.
Some controversy
On March 10, Fine held a press conference to address the incident of a canvasser for Weil, Arleci Darnae Brown, who was arrested three days prior on charges of burglary and theft regarding a bicycle while allegedly campaigning for Weil. At the press conference, Fine claimed Weil employed a convicted felon while having a “lengthy documented history of supporting Muslim terror and justifying and participating in criminal activity himself.”
Fine has also referred to Weil as “Jihad” Josh.
Later that day, Weil was set to hold a town hall in the DeLand City Commission Chambers. He did not attend — instead one of his representatives spoke to the large group there about the election.
The big picture
Zooming out, Florida’s Congressional District 1 will also be having a special election April 1 to fill the vacancy created when incumbent Matt Gaetz resigned from Congress. Gaetz had been nominated by President Trump for attorney general, but later withdrew from consideration. The candidates for this congressional seat include Jimmy Patronis and Gay Valimont. President Trump has brought Floridians — as a Florida resident himself — and Republican politicians across the country into his Cabinet.
Depending on the outcomes, these special elections may reduce the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, which currently sits at 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats according to the U.S. House of Representatives. Congress currently has four vacancies, including Gaetz and Waltz, in addition to Democrats Sylvester Turner and Raul Grijalva, both of whom died earlier this year.
Patronis has $972,363 in his campaign war chest. Valimont has raised $103,639.
Overall, $1.7 million in campaign donations have been poured into the two district races. Some 81 percent of those monies are for the Republican candidates.
When and Where
Early voting: Saturday, March 22 – Saturday, March 29 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Early Voting Locations: Supervisor of Elections Office 1750 S. Woodland Blvd., DeLand
Ormond Beach Regional Library, 30 S. Beach St., Ormond Beach
Daytona Beach Regional Library 105 Jackie Robinson Parkway, Daytona Beach
Deadline to Request a Vote by-Mail Ballot 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 20, 2025
Election Day Tuesday, April 1, 2025 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Why not re elect Matt Gaetz, lol
If you care about getting and keeping your Social Security benefits, vote for Josh Weil. The Republicans are already making plans to take Social Security and Medicare away from us.