Republicans grow concerned about Trump’s handpicked candidate in Florida special election
CNN
Top Republicans grew so concerned about the lackluster performance of their own GOP House candidate in an upcoming special election that President Donald Trump’s team and members of House GOP leadership decided to personally intervene.
Top Republicans grew so concerned about the lackluster performance of their own GOP House candidate in an upcoming special election that President Donald Trump’s team and members of House GOP leadership decided to personally intervene. A top adviser to Trump reached out directly to state Sen. Randy Fine, with a message that he needed to get his house in order and get on the airwaves, a White House source told CNN. And some Republican leaders were even more blunt. House GOP campaign chief Rep. Richard Hudson and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer each separately told Fine to “get his sh*t together,” according to two GOP sources working closely on the race. Now, weeks later, Republicans are bracing for a closer-than-expected result Tuesday in a deep-red US House district in Florida, where their nominee has been significantly outraised and is at risk of falling far short of the president’s November performance in the district. Ahead of the vote, Republicans are rushing to level-set expectations and bolster Fine’s campaign, including with a tele-rally featuring Trump set for Thursday evening. Both parties agree that Fine remains poised to win the special election for the seat, which became vacant when the president tapped former Rep. Mike Waltz to be his national security adviser. Waltz won reelection in November by 33 points. But Democrat Josh Weil, a teacher, has outraised Fine nearly 10-to-1 and run a much more aggressive campaign, tying Fine to the Elon Musk-run Department of Government Efficiency and potential cuts to Medicaid and Social Security.
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