Florida state Sen. Randy Fine had long been viewed as a virtual lock for the House seat in Florida’s 6th Congressional District. But surging fundraising by his long-shot Democratic challenger has fueled concerns that the Jewish Republican might be slipping in the deep-red district, which Republicans had expected to win easily.

Republicans say they still expect Fine to win the seat in the April 1 special election, but some acknowledge that his campaign has faced challenges. Democrat Josh Weil has raised close to $10 million, while Fine has raised less than $600,000, and recently contributed $600,000 of his own funds to the race. That cash advantage allowed Weil to begin running television ads weeks before Fine, though Weil has now burned through most of his war chest.

The district, centered in Daytona Beach, backed President Trump with 64% of the vote in last year’s election. 

“He needs to do better. But we’re going to win that seat,” National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) said of Fine on Monday. “I would have preferred if our candidate had raised money at a faster rate and gotten on TV quicker. But he’s doing what he needs to do.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, also suggested that Fine has issues as a candidate.

“Regardless of the outcome in that, it’s going to be a way underperformance from what I won that district by in 2022 … and what the president won it by in November,” DeSantis said. “They’re going to try to lay that at the feet of President Donald Trump. That is not a reflection of President Trump. It’s a reflection of the specific candidate running in that race.”

A Fine campaign spokesperson emphasized in a statement to Jewish Insider that Republicans are working together to win the seat and expressed confidence that Fine would win on the strength of Trump’s agenda and support.

“The only thing that matters is making sure Republicans are united to defeat radical Democrats like Josh Weil who will stop at nothing to destroy President Trump, and we appreciate Governor DeSantis deploying his team yesterday to help our campaign,” the spokesperson said.

Amid reports of concerns about Fine’s candidacy, Trump issued a renewed endorsement of the Florida Republican — an ardent supporter of Israel — on Truth Social on Monday.

DeSantis was a onetime ally of Fine, but Fine distanced himself from the governor over his silence in response to a series of neo-Nazi demonstrations in the state, going on to withdraw his endorsement of DeSantis and endorse Trump in the 2024 presidential primary.

“Randy Fine will be a Member of Congress. Everything else is just noise,” NRCC spokesperson Maureen O’Toole said in a statement to JI.

Florida-based GOP strategist Ford O’Connell said that anything less than a double-digit win for Fine in the district would be seen as an underperformance and a victory for Democrats. He said the Democratic Party is hoping to use the race to generate enthusiasm and engagement among its voters.

“You’re talking about Florida, the epicenter of the Republican Party right now. And they want to be able to go deeper in the Republican territory and say, ‘Look at what we can do here: it does not bode well for Republicans in 2026,’” O’Connell said. 

“He is going to win this race. It’s just most likely going to be much closer than it should be.”

O’Connell predicted that some national Republican figures are likely to visit the district in the coming days to help boost Fine’s campaign, and that Fine’s underperformance in early voting is likely not reflective of the more Republican-leaning Election Day voter base.