Washington —Special elections will be held Tuesday in two safe Republican Florida congressional districts that have attracted serious fundraising from Democrats and increased attention since President Trump withdrew Rep. Elise Stefanik’s name from consideration for U.N. ambassador.
The race to replace former Rep. Mike Waltz, who resigned from his seat in Florida’s 6th Congressional District to become Mr. Trump’s national security adviser, appears unexpectedly competitive, with Democrat Josh Weil significantly outraising Republican state Sen. Randy Fine in a district that Waltz won by more than 30 points in November. Weil, a public school teacher, had raised more than $9 million through mid-March compared to Fine, who brought in less than $1 million, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
The race gained more attention last week when Waltz appeared at the center of a Signal leak, when Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic, revealed that he was added to a group on the encrypted messaging app and observed as top Trump officials discussed sensitive plans to strike targets in Yemen.
The developments have turned outsized focus toward the contest for the seat representing an area on Florida’s Eastern Coast. And though Republicans are not in danger of losing their majority even if Democrats pull off upsets in both contests, favorable results for the GOP would give the party more breathing room as it attempts to pass Mr. Trump’s agenda. Republicans have a razor-thin majority in the House, with 218 seats to Democrats’ 213. There are two remaining vacancies in seats that were held by Democrats who died in March.
In withdrawing the appointment of Stefanik, a New York Republican who has been among Mr. Trump’s most loyal voices in Congress, the president explained that he didn’t want to risk further depleting the already narrow majority.
“We don’t want to take any chances,” Mr. Trump said last week in the Oval Office. “It’s as simple as that. It’s basic politics.”
The other special election, in Florida’s 1st Congressional District in the state’s Panhandle, will fill the vacancy left by former Rep. Matt Gaetz, whose nomination to be attorney general was derailed by a House Ethics Committee report that alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. Gaetz, who denied any wrongdoing, withdrew his name from consideration, although he had already resigned from Congress.
The race, which is seen as less competitive, includes Republican Jimmy Patronis, the state’s chief financial officer, and Democrat Gay Valimont, a gun control activist. Patronis had raised $2.1 million as of mid-March compared to Valimont’s nearly $6.5 million, according to FEC filings.
The contests, along with an election for Wisconsin Supreme Court also being held on Tuesday, mark the first elections since Mr. Trump returned to office, in races that are being viewed as key tests for the GOP.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, stopped short of predicting that Democrats would flip either seat on Tuesday, but said the attention on the reliably red districts should serve as a warning for Republicans.
“These are races that should not under ordinary circumstances be on anyone’s political radar,” he said at a news conference last week. “What I can say, almost guarantee, is that the Democratic candidate in both of these Florida special elections will significantly over-perform, which will represent another sign that the Republicans are on the run and that Democrats are going to take back control of the House of Representatives next year.”
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