The two Democrats running in special elections to fill Florida’s vacant home seats have dominated Republican enemies despite a long shot to win early next month.
Democrat Gay Valimont, who will run for special elections to represent Florida’s First Congressional District, and Josh Weil, who will be representing the state’s Sixth Congressional District, have totaled more than $15 million, according to a Federal Election Commission (FEC) report filed Thursday before the previous election deadline.
The campaign brought in funds for a two-month period from January 9th to March 12th. Valimont raised $6.4 million, while Weil received a $8.9 million donation.
That’s several times higher than their Republican opponents have grown in that time span.
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis ran for District 1 to take over former GOP MP Matt Gaetz, raising $1.2 million, but District 6 Sen. Randy Fein (R) raised about $560,000 on behalf of current national security advisor Mike Waltz, according to a FEC filing.
The report comes after the Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced Thursday that it would invest in races to enable state Democrats to implement “full-time organizational capabilities.” The investment is set to cover voter protection programs in two districts, including over 200 vote watchers and greetings on Election Day.
Although the DNC has not provided specific dollars for investment, the investment is totally noteworthy in two solid red districts in the state that have been increasingly flowing to Republicans in recent years.
Gaetz easily won a re-election bid for Valimont in November. He resigned late last year and resigned after being nominated as President Trump’s first choice for Attorney General. He refused to be sworn for another semester amid scrutiny on ethical investigations, even after withdrawing his name from consideration to lead the Department of Justice.
Waltz beat Democrat James Stockton by a similar margin.
Observers will watch the April 1 election to see if Democrats can at least break into those margins, suggesting an increase in enthusiasm, even if they are predominantly favorites to win.
