Jimmy Patronis, Florida's Republican Chief Financial Officer, won election to represent Florida's 1st Congressional District Tuesday, defeating Democratic challenger Gay Valimont.
Patronis, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, will fill the U.S. House seat left vacant by former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who President-elect Trump nominated to serve as Attorney General before his withdrawal.
Florida's Republican state Sen. Randy Fine on Tuesday won election to represent the state's 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Fine defeated Democratic challenger Josh Weil to fill the seat vacated by Mike Waltz, who became President Donald Trump's national security adviser.
Fine, who had President Trump's endorsement, defeated Weil despite being behind in fundraising. Weil had secured grassroots and national donations to raise $9 million for the race.
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Going into Tuesday's elections, Republican candidates were expected to hold both seats, which represent deeply pro-Trump districts. Retaining both would give Republicans a 220-213 majority over Democrats in the House.
But Democratic candidates beat out their rivals in fundraising in both districts, which they say is due to widespread public dissatisfaction with the performance of President Trump's second administration so far.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who previously represented Florida's 6th District, said the performance in Tuesday's race shouldn't be considered a referendum on President Trump.
“I think the district is so overwhelmingly Republican that it’s almost impossible for someone with an R by their name to lose that district, so I would anticipate (a) Republican candidate is still going to be successful,” DeSantis said.
