The Josh Weil campaign raised $9.5 million in its effort to flip a longstanding Republican congressional district in Florida, Federal Election Commission data through March 12 shows.
And in the days since, the campaign has topped $10 million, according to Weil, an Orlando Democrat. Meanwhile, Republican state Sen. Randy Fine came in at just under $1 million.
The fundraising suggests one story in Florida’s 6th District – stretching from Daytona Beach north to St. Augustine and west to Ocala. But there other elements lend a deeper context to the April 1 election, starting with the district’s history of backing Republican candidates and President Donald Trump, whose endorsement of Fine propelled his campaign.
So while Weil’s campaign has been able to message voters more aggressively, Fine has had help from outside groups and will almost certainly get more in what promises to be a heated final week of campaigning.
Weil fundraising national in scope
With just two out of 535 congressional seats on the ballot this spring, Weil and Gay Valimont, the Democrat running in Florida’s 1st District against CFO Jimmy Patronis to replace Matt Gaetz, have been able to tap into national angst in the first two months of the Trump administration.
The $9.5 million Weil had attracted through March 12 came from more than 240,000 unique donors averaging $29, the campaign said. Donations came from all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
Among the donations large enough to be reported, $609,000 came from Florida and $365,000 from California, where a handful of Hollywood celebrities contributed, including actresses Melanie Griffith, Holland Taylor and Heather Thomas, plus actor Paul Dooley and his wife Winnie Holzman, one of the writers of the Oscar-winning film “Wicked.”
Weil says he has refused to take money from “corporate PACs.”
“It’s that grassroots energy that is going to defeat career politician Randy Fine and the huge corporations and special interests that own him and his campaign,” Weil said in a news release.
How is Fine spending his money?
Fine, who raised $987,000 through March 12, has spent his money in a more conventional fashion, with money going to strategic consultants, telemarketers, pollsters, sign makers and media buys.
Fine’s biggest expenditure appears to be just over $300,000 on Big Dog Strategies, an Estero, Florida, political consulting firm that employs Bryan Piligra, Fine’s campaign consultant.
Fine also spent $190,000 in two separate expenditures with Strategic Media Placement of Delaware, Ohio, for advertising. And he spent just over $100,000 on polling services from Fabrizio, Lee & Associates of Fort Lauderdale. Tony Fabrizio was Trump’s chief pollster in 2016 and 2024.
How much has Josh Weil spent?
Through March 12, Weil spent $8.2 million, much of it on messaging, such as TV, radio, print, social media and even billboard ads.
Democratic congressional candidate Josh Weil is running in a special election to fill a vacancy in Florida’s 6th District, encompassing Flagler and Putnam counties as well as parts of Volusia, St. Johns, Marion and Lake counties.
A significant chunk – nearly $2.5 million – went to Key Lime Strategies & Media, a Pasco County firm that has done the bulk of Weil’s digital fundraising.
At least three organizations were paid to help get boots on the ground, including Trailblazing Canvassers of Merritt Island, which received $1.9 million.
At least four companies, Switchboard Public Benefit and Grassroots Analytics, Inc., both in Washington, Hockeystick, LLC, in Silver Spring, Maryland, and True Blue Analytics in Wilmington, Delaware, were paid for text messaging voters, with Switchboard receiving the most, $274,000.
Weil has paid several staff members, including his campaign manager, Wendy Garcia, who collected $18,000 for two months’ work.
And Weil has collected a salary, as well. Since Jan. 9, he paid himself $9,450, as is allowed under FEC rules for non-incumbent candidates. Weil, a teacher, has taken a leave of absence from his employer, Osceola County Schools, in order to run.
Multimillionaire Fine criticizes Weil’s spending
Fine – whose last financial disclosure in 2024 estimated his net worth at more than $30 million – is attacking Weil’s campaign spending, which also included a $51,000 expense on an Airbnb on March 6, and a $352,000 bill from Voter Influencers, LLC, of Hollywood, Florida, for “voter engagement/musicians/talent.” Weil’s campaign has included events featuring gospel singer Le’Andria Johnson, rapper Killer Mike and R&B legend Patti LaBelle.
State Sen. Randy Fine is a Republican seeking the vacant congressional seat in Florida’s 6th District. A special election is April 1, with early voting starting in six counties on Saturday.
“He is begging working-class Americans struggling to make ends meet to give him $5 and $10 contributions, which he then takes to pay himself a candidate salary, for a lavish Airbnb, and to get celebrities to hang out with him. It’s repulsive,” Fine said. “Josh Weil is the very definition of a ‘champagne socialist’ and represents everything that is wrong with today’s Democratic Party, out of touch if not downright insulting to regular Americans.”
To which Nick Sakhnovsky, Volusia County’s Democratic Party chair, responded: “It is rich to have a candidate worth over $30 million complaining that his opponent is legally taking the equivalent of foregone teacher’s pay during the campaign.”
Asked for an interview to provide more details on the spending, such as the Airbnb expense, the Weil campaign responded with a statement that read, in part: “Randy Fine is lashing out with lies and attacks because he knows he’s in trouble in this race. Our campaign has the momentum, and that’s reflected in what we’ve seen in the early vote.”
Is the massive fundraising haul working for Weil?
The GOP has a distinct advantage in voter registration in the 6th, covering the Daytona Beach area west to Ocala and north to St. Augustine. Of the 559,000 voters eligible, 49% are Republican, as compared with 25.5% Democrat. The remainder are no-party affiliated or members of minor parties.
Even still, Weil’s fundraising – and spending – has made a difference in helping turn out voters during an off-cycle special election.
Through Sunday, Democrats had turned out more 6th District voters in early voting and mail balloting: 43.1% to Republicans’ 41.2%.
But by Tuesday, that had begun to swing Republicans’ way. Out of nearly 63,000 ballots, 44.6% had of been cast by Republicans, to 40.3% by Democrats.
Some Republicans – most notably Gov. Ron DeSantis – have been critical of Fine’s campaign. On Tuesday, DeSantis told reporters it’s “almost impossible” for a Republican to lose in the 6th, where DeSantis won three terms in 2012, 2014 and 2016, but predicted “underperformance” by Fine that should not be taken as a reflection on Trump, but rather the Republican candidate. Fine and DeSantis have been at odds since the fall of 2023, when Fine switched his 2024 presidential endorsement from the governor, who had been a close ally, to Trump.
Early voting continues through Saturday in the district, which covers all of Flagler County and the northern half of Volusia County, plus Putnam, southern St. Johns and eastern Marion and Lake counties.
Fine and Weil – plus Libertarian Andrew Parrott and no-party affiliated Randall Terry – are on the ballot for a seat won by Michael Waltz in November by 33 percentage points. Waltz resigned on Jan. 20 to become President Donald Trump’s national security advisor.
Why have Democrats been so competitive in this special election?
Off-year elections tend to draw national interest because they are considered a bellwether on the administration and party in power. Plus, they are the only two current races nationwide, as opposed to November of every even year, when there might be as many as 435 House races.
“Special elections are always going to generate a lot of money and a lot of attention,” Brendan Glavin, director of insights at OpenSecrets, said. “These are the first big races after the election in November, so they generate a lot of focus normally. Add to this the real tightness of leadership in the House and that ramps up all of the attention on it.”
Campaigns in the special election are due to turn in campaign finance reports to the Federal Election Commission this week, although those reports weren’t available on Thursday. Those reports will provide a more detailed look at where the campaigns are getting their funding and how they are spending it.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Democrats say they’ve raised $10 million in Florida congressional race
