• Early voting is underway in a special election to replace former Congressman Michael Waltz, who resigned to become U.S. national security advisor.
• Republican Randy Fine and Democrat Josh Weil are the leading candidates in the race for Florida’s 6th Congressional District.
• Fine is campaigning on his support for President Trump’s agenda, while Weil is focusing on protecting Medicare and Social Security.
• Early voting turnout shows a tight race, with Democrats holding a slight advantage overall but Republicans turning out more party members in most of the district’s counties.

Early voting for the April 1 special election to replace former Congressman Michael Waltz has started and will continue through Saturday in six Florida counties including Volusia and Flagler.

Waltz resigned his Congressional District 6 seat in January when he was tapped by President Donald Trump to be the U.S. national security advisor.

Both leading candidates vying for the congressional seat said Saturday – the first day of early voting – they feel optimistic about winning the election, each defending their political ideologies.

“We feel great,” said Republican Randy Fine when asked how his campaign is doing. “Look, what we need is people who support President Trump to get out and vote. If they do that we are going to win big.” 

Democrat Josh Weil said what he saw in Saturday’s early voting reflects the momentum his campaign has picked up in this special election.

Early voting numbers thus far

After the first two days of early voting, Democrats were outperforming the GOP in Volusia County, drawing 1,423 Dems to 1,082 Republicans. However, in Flagler and the four other counties that comprise the district, Republicans were turning out more party members.

Combining early voting and vote-by-mail turnout throughout the 6th District, Democrats held a slight advantage going into Monday, with 43.1% of the 46,377 votes, while Republicans had 41.2%. With the remainder of votes coming from voters with no party affiliation or members of minor parties, the race is far tighter than previous congressional contests in east-central Florida.

The 6th District is comprised of 49% Republicans and 25.5% Democrats, according to the Florida Division of Elections.

Line seen at DeLand early voting site

By 11:55 a.m. on Saturday, at least 10 people waited in line at the Supervisor of Elections DeLand office to vote.

“Let me tell you, to have a line in early voting, it means people are coming out,” said a volunteer for Fine’s campaign.

The woman declined to give her name but said she has been working campaigns for five years and this is the first time she has seen a line form in the first day of early voting to elect one person.

Fine visited the campaign tent in DeLand to have pizza and chat with volunteers and voters.

Fine blasts Weil for ‘paying himself a salary’

Asked if he has been able to get his message out to voters in view that his opponent, Weil, has raised more money, Fine took a swipe at Weil’s campaign calling it a ripoff.

“He’s raised a lot of money. He is giving it to himself. Never in my political career have I seen a candidate who literally is taking money from his donors and paying himself a salary,” Fine said.

The FEC report on the Weil campaign’s spending does show the candidate taking a salary, with payments between Jan. 9 and March 4 totaling $9,459. FEC rules allow non-officeholders to pay themselves although there are restrictions on how much a candidate can earn.

Weil’s campaign said the candidate is collecting pay equivalent to his teacher’s salary, in accordance with the law.

“We need more working people in Congress who understand the challenges families are facing, and that’s who Josh is,” his campaign said. “And it’s why he needs to draw an honest salary from the campaign to support his two boys.”

Referendum on America First agenda

Weil’s fundraising has tapped into anger across the country over the president’s agenda. Fine is leaning into what Trump has done in his first two months.

“What I am going to do is I am going to stand with President Trump. The Trump agenda is on the line in this election,” Fine said. “The Republican majority in the House is very tight and that’s why you see questionable Act Blue money from all over the country flood in.”

“There is a reason President Trump asked me to run, there is a reason that I’m running. It’s to make sure the Trump agenda wins,” Fine added.

Is Randy Fine ‘in trouble?’

Weil responded that Fine chooses to lash out with lies.

“Randy Fine is lashing out with lies and attacks because he knows he’s in trouble in this race,” Weil wrote in a text to the News-Journal.

Weil said his campaign has increased momentum because he remains focused on what truly matters to voters.

“Our campaign is dedicated to protecting Medicare and Social Security and lowering costs, ensuring that our seniors and families have the support they need to thrive,” Weil said in his statement.

Also running for the congressional seat are Libertarian Andrew Parrott and no-party affiliation candidate Randall Terry.