2025 Florida's 6th congressional district special election
U.S. House special election
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The 2025 Florida's 6th congressional district special election was held on April 1, 2025, to choose a new member of the U.S. House of Representatives.[1] The seat became vacant following the resignation of Republican incumbent Mike Waltz, who in 2024 had been re-elected with 66.5% of the vote, but was chosen by President Donald Trump to be his White House national security advisor.[2] The district is considered safely Republican.
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April 1, 2025
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Florida's 6th congressional district | |||||||||||||||||
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Fine: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% 90%+ Weil: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% 90%+ Tie: 40–50% | |||||||||||||||||
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Florida state senator Randy Fine won the Republican primary with 83% of the vote, defeating Aaron Baker and Ehsan Joarder. Josh Weil, a schoolteacher, won the Democratic primary with 61%, defeating Ges Selmont.[3][4] In the general election campaign, Weil outraised Fine by $10 million to under $1 million.[5]
In the April 1 general election, Fine defeated Weil by 14 percentage points[6][7] though he won by significantly less margins than Trump and Waltz had in the 2024 elections. The election was held alongside a concurrent special election for Florida's 1st congressional district.
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Randy Fine, former state senator from the 19th district (2024–2025)[8]
Eliminated in primary
- Aaron Baker[9]
- Ehsan Joarder, IT specialist and candidate for the 14th district in 2024[9]
Withdrawn
- Ernest Audino, district director for incumbent Michael Waltz[10]
- Joe Mullins, former Flagler County commissioner (endorsed Fine)[10]
- Steve Rance, Air Force veteran (endorsed Fine)[11]
Declined
- Tom Leek, state senator from the 7th district (2024–present)[12]
- Anthony Sabatini, Lake County commissioner (2024–present), chair of the Lake County Republican Party (2022–2024), and candidate for the 7th district in 2022 and the 11th district in 2024[13]
- Ted Yoho, former U.S. representative from Florida's 3rd congressional district (2013–2021)[14]
Endorsements
Randy Fine
- Executive branch officials
- Donald Trump, 45th and 47th president of the United States (2017–2021, 2025–present)[15]
- Mike Waltz, U.S. national security advisor (2025), Ambassador to the United Nations (2025-present) and former U.S. representative from Florida's 6th congressional district (2019–2025)[16]
- U.S. senators
- Rick Scott, U.S. senator from Florida (2019–present)[17]
- U.S. representatives
- Tom Emmer, House Majority Whip (2023–present) from Minnesota's 6th congressional district (2015–present)[17]
- Mike Johnson, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (2023–present) from Louisiana's 4th congressional district (2017–present)[17]
- Steve Scalise, House majority leader (2023–present) from Louisiana's 1st congressional district (2008–present)[17]
- Organizations
Results
Fine
- 70–80%
- 80–90%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Randy Fine | 33,901 | 83.0 | |
| Republican | Aaron Baker | 5,735 | 14.0 | |
| Republican | Ehsan Joarder | 1,201 | 2.9 | |
| Total votes | 40,837 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Josh Weil, teacher and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2022[21]
Eliminated in primary
- Ges Selmont, attorney and nominee for the 4th district in 2018[9]
Withdrawn
- Purvi Bangdiwala, pharmacist[22]
Results
Weil
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Weil | 9,721 | 60.7 | |
| Democratic | Ges Selmont | 6,283 | 39.3 | |
| Total votes | 16,004 | 100.0 | ||
Third parties and independents
Libertarian Party
Nominee
- Andrew Parrott, welder[9]
Independents
Declared
- Randall Terry, author, perennial candidate, and Constitution Party nominee for president in 2024[23]
Write-in candidates
Declared
General election
Endorsements
Randy Fine (R)
Josh Weil (D)
- U.S. senators
- Bernie Sanders, U.S. senator from Vermont (2007–present) (Independent)[26]
- Party officials
- Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party (2023–present)[27]
- Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee (2025–present)[28]
- Individuals
- Le'Andria Johnson, singer[29]
- Killer Mike, rapper[30]
- Patti LaBelle, singer[29]
- Organizations
Polling
Fundraising
| Campaign finance reports as of March 12, 2025 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
| Randy Fine (R) | $987,459 | $894,765 | $92,693 |
| Josh Weil (D) | $9,491,734 | $8,210,682 | $1,281,051 |
| Source: Federal Election Commission[35] | |||
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Randy Fine | 110,980 | 56.68% | −9.85% | |
| Democratic | Josh Weil | 83,580 | 42.69% | +9.22% | |
| Libertarian | Andrew Parrott | 702 | 0.36% | N/A | |
| Independent | Randall Terry | 526 | 0.27% | N/A | |
| Write-in | Chuck Sheridan | 12 | 0.01% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 195,800 | 100.0% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
By county
| County[36] | Randy Fine Republican |
Josh Weil Democratic |
Andrew Parrott Libertarian |
Randall Terry Independent |
Margin | Total votes cast | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Flagler | 22,222 | 57.00% | 16,534 | 42.41% | 140 | 0.36% | 91 | 0.23% | 5,688 | 14.59% | 38,988 |
| Lake | 16,315 | 58.16% | 11,535 | 41.12% | 110 | 0.39% | 87 | 0.31% | 4,780 | 17.04% | 28,050 |
| Marion | 23,516 | 62.20% | 14,114 | 37.33% | 104 | 0.28% | 71 | 0.19% | 9,402 | 24.87% | 37,810 |
| Putnam | 9,719 | 66.67% | 4,770 | 32.72% | 43 | 0.30% | 45 | 0.31% | 4,949 | 33.95% | 14,577 |
| St. Johns | 7,318 | 55.07% | 5,909 | 44.47% | 33 | 0.25% | 29 | 0.22% | 1,409 | 10.60% | 13,289 |
| Volusia | 31,890 | 50.55% | 30,718 | 48.69% | 272 | 0.43% | 203 | 0.32% | 1,172 | 1.86% | 63,086 |
| Totals | 110,980 | 56.68% | 83,580 | 42.69% | 702 | 0.36% | 526 | 0.27% | 27,400 | 13.99% | 195,800 |