Randy Fine leads CD 6 fundraising race, but some Democrats are making credible showings

U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, a Daytona Beach Republican elected in a Special Election last year in Florida’s 6th Congressional District, raised more than $200,000 in the first quarter to defend his seat.

Of that money, more than $101,000 came from individuals, $15,000 came from PACs, and an additional $84,000 came in transfers from other authorized committees, which appear to be almost exclusively the Team Fine joint fundraising committee.

The committee brought in $131,000 and doled out nearly $146,000 over the same period, including to the Hebrew Hammer PAC. The former account has $5,000 on hand and the latter nearly $33,000 as of the end of February, the last date for which there are records as of this writing.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Republican Jewish Coalition, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, Associated Builders and Contractors, and Belinda Keiser are among the Fine donors this quarter.

Meanwhile, Democrat Jennifer Jenkins of Satellite Beach raised nearly $212,000, technically topping the money raised to Fine’s primary committee.

Democrat Eric Yonce of Ormond Beach raised nearly $130,000, with nearly $110,000 of that being unitemized contributions, which are small-dollar donations lumped together without accountability for the source.

The incumbent holds a substantial cash-on-hand advantage, with nearly $762,000 compared to just over $251,000 for Jenkins, a former member of the Brevard County School Board, and just over $56,000 for Yonce.

But what’s clear is that just as was the case in 2025 when Fine defeated Josh Weil in what ultimately was a very expensive election on both sides, the Donald Trump-endorsed Republican could end up facing a Democrat who is able to engage donors.

Fine looks poised to face a number of challengers, though the two established candidates Aaron Baker and Charles Gambaro have just over $3,000 and $14,000 cash on hand. Gambaro has loaned his own campaign more than a quarter million dollars.

Meanwhile, influencer Dan Bilzerian has opened a campaign account. Though he is not from Florida, his address is shared with the law firm of former state legislator Anthony Sabatini. Bilzerian has made a series of antisemitic slurs against Fine that have drawn national scrutiny, including from TMZ.

“This fat jew Rep. Fine publicly talks s*** about Muslims but says he’s passed laws to throw people in prison for five years for criticizing Jews,” he said recently.

Bilzerian is a genuine wild card in the race, given that he has 30 million Instagram followers. But visibility into his campaign finance won’t be available until the second-quarter report filed in July.

But even if Bilzerian raises a lot of money to amplify his toxic message, outside help could come in for Fine, especially given his close ties to the White House.

As is the case with all Florida districts this cycle, congressional reapportionment in a Special Session set to begin later this month could change the map significantly in the east-central Florida district that runs from Daytona to St. Johns County and points west.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has feuded with Fine for more than a year and questioned his quality as a candidate during last year’s Special Election, ultimately will produce a proposed redistricting to address alleged malapportionment.

It’s conceivable that an aggressive redistricting may take Republicans from this district to make a Democratic district in the Orlando area more competitive given DeSantis’ animus toward the incumbent.

However, a number of these candidates have no real ties to the current district as it’s drawn, so who really knows what will happen even if CD 6 as we have known it since 2022 is scrubbed.