Josh Weil shocks by raising more than $10M for CD 6 Special Election

Democrat Josh Weil has raised an eye-popping $10 million for an April 1 Special Election in a Republican-leaning congressional district.

Weil faces Republican Randy Fine, a state Senator endorsed by President Donald Trump.

“Our campaign is about fighting back against the threats against health care and public schools,” Weil said in a statement. “I’m grateful for the hundreds of thousands of Floridians and regular Americans who still believe in a better future. It’s that grassroots energy that is going to defeat career politician Randy Fine and the huge corporations and special interests that own him and his campaign.”

The eight-figure haul for an uphill battle in Florida’s 6th Congressional District appears to be fueled by national discontent among Democrats following Trump’s return to the White House. Weil’s campaign said he collected more than $10 million from more than 240,440 donors in the form of 348,586 individual contributions.

None of those come from corporate PAC donations, according to the campaign. The average contribution was just $29. The checks came into the campaign from across the country.

The winner of the April 1 election will succeed former U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, who resigned his seat to be Trump’s National Security Adviser. Waltz was one of three members of the House appointed by Trump to positions in his administration, two of whom represented Florida districts.

That gives the race some added significance considering the closely divided state of the House. Republicans enjoy a 218-213 majority over Democrats, and that exists only due to the deaths of two Democratic members this month. U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican, expects to resign her seat once she is confirmed as the new U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

The close margin has drawn outsized attention to the two Special Elections for House seats in Florida. Gay Valimont, a Democrat running for former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz’s seat in the Panhandle, last week told the Pensacola News-Journal she raised $6.7 million to run in Florida’s 1st Congressional District.

But in both CD 1 and CD 6, Democrats have bigger obstacles than money.

As of the March 3 closing of voter rolls, CD 6 had more than 273,000 Republicans registered and eligible to vote in the April 1 Special Election, compared to just over 142,000 Democrats. Another more than 143,000 voters are registered without party affiliation or with minor parties.

In CD 1, where Valimont faces Republican Jimmy Patronis, the margin is even more daunting for Democrats, with around 312,00 Republicans registered compared to fewer than 119,000 Democrats and about 136,000 other voters.

Neither Fine nor Patronis has yet announced fundraising ahead of the Special Election, and the last Federal Election Commission reports for any of the candidates still in the races date back to January.

But voters in the districts have previously leaned heavily Republican. Gaetz in November beat Valimont with more than 66% of the vote. Meanwhile, Waltz won his November race with almost 66% over Democrat James Stockton.

In the CD 6 Special Election, Libertarian Andrew Parrott and independent Randall Terry will also both appear on the ballot, as will a line for a write-in candidate. Likewise, independent Stephen Brody will appear on the CD 1 ballot, and voters can vote for write-in candidates there as well.

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