DeSantis says Florida special election isn't referendum on Trump
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Tuesday’s special election in the state’s 6th Congressional District is not a referendum on President Trump's first few months back in office.
“If there’s an underperformance, [political media] is going to say, 'See it shows the voters are rejecting [Trump].' It has nothing to do with that,” DeSantis, who previously represented the district until 2018, told reporters.
“This is a rejection of a specific candidate amongst some voters who either choose not to vote, maybe even vote third party,” he continued. “I don’t know how many Republicans would cross over and vote for a lunatic Democrat.”
DeSantis went on to say that if there is an underperformance it will be because of Republican candidate Randy Fine. The governor noted that Fine lives outside the district in Brevard County.
“You can quibble with Trump endorsing or not, but that’s a separate question from why are voters reacting the way they do if there’s an underperformance, and I think it’s going to be more of a local reason. I think it’s going to be more of a candidate-specific reason. I don’t think that if there’s an underperformance that that’s a referendum on the president,” the governor said.
DeSantis’s comments come as Trump faces one of the most significant political tests of his second administration so far as voters head to the polls in Wisconsin and Florida. In Florida, two deep-red House seats in the state’s 1st and 6th congressional districts are up for grabs. Republicans are expected to win the 1st Congressional District, arguably the most conservative House district in the state.
But Republicans have grown increasingly nervous about the race to replace national security adviser Mike Waltz in the 6th District, which he and Trump won by more than 30 points in November.
Democratic candidate Josh Weil announced last month his campaign raised roughly $10 million and began airing ads in the district in early March. Fine, on the other hand, raised just less than $1 million. Weil also outspent Fine by roughly $8.2 million to $895,000. On top of that, an internal poll from the Republican firm Fabrizio Ward showed Weil holding a 3-point lead over Fine.