Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Tuesday he hopes state Sen. Randy Fein will perform in a special election for Florida’s 6th Congressional District next week.
“Regardless of the outcome, it will be a decline in performance from what I won that district by 2022 and what the president won in November,” DeSantis told reporters.
“They’re going to try to put it at President Trump’s feet,” he continued. “It’s not a reflection of President Trump, it’s a reflection of a particular candidate running in that race.”
“If President Trump votes in this special election, he would win 30 points,” he said. “This is a candidate-specific issue. The district is so overwhelmingly Republican, I think it is almost impossible for someone who has an R by that name to lose that district.
“It’s a reflection of the candidates who are running in that race,” he added.
Democrat Josh Weil has been heavily fined in the race. Recent filings show that Weil raised nearly $10 million and the fines resulted in $561,000.
Trump, who previously represented the district, and national security adviser Mike Waltz, scored more than 30 points in November.
Fine and DeSantis have a controversial history. Fine became the first Florida lawmaker to switch support from DeSantis to Trump in the 2024 GOP Primary.
The Desantis team has returned following the Fine switch and calling it “Political Theatre.”