Democrats Fail To Flip 2 House Seats: FL Election Results 2025

Update 9:21 p.m.: “Today, we conclude a campaign that was built on the belief that every voice matters. While the results were not what we hoped for, I am proud of the journey we’ve taken and the conversations I have had over the last 20 months,” Gay Valimont, who CNN projected lost to Republican Jimmy Patronis, Florida's chief financial officer, in the 1st Congressional District race, wrote in a post to X, formerly Twitter. “This is hard, but this is how we change things. It takes time. My opponent now must attempt to represent the people of this district after not having the decency to campaign here or have any policy points he put forth. I plan to attend his first town hall and am interested to hear about his plans for Florida’s First.”

Update 9:01 p.m.: While the Democrats raised more money for these two campaigns, both districts favor Republicans. The Washington Post said the GOP wins for these two House seats gives Trump and the House more of a chance to enact his legislative framework in one large bill.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social network: “BOTH FLORIDA HOUSE SEATS HAVE BEEN WON, BIG, BY THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE. THE TRUMP ENDORSEMENT, AS ALWAYS, PROVED FAR GREATER THAN THE DEMOCRATS FORCES OF EVIL. CONGRATULATIONS TO AMERICA!!!”

Ken Martin, the head of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement: “In 2025, Democrats have overperformed the top of the ticket in nearly every election as voters turn out in blue, purple, and red districts to voice their anger at Donald Trump and Elon Musk, Tonight was no different.”

Update 8:23 p.m.: CNN projects that Republican Jimmy Patronis, the state's chief financial officer, will win the 1st Congressional District contest. Patronis has 57.0 percent of the votes compared to Democrat Gay Valimont's 42.2 percent of all votes in.

Update 8:14 p.m.: The polls have closed in the Panhandle, where the 1st Congressional District contest is between Republican Jimmy Patronis, the state's chief financial officer, and Democrat Gay Valimont. The winner will replace former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz. The Washington Post has Patronis leading with 51.1 percent over Valimont with 48.2 percent of the vote in early returns. It is too soon to project a winner.

Update 7:50 p.m.: President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, that State Sen. Randy Fine won. The presumed GOP winner replied on X: "Because of you, Mr. President. I won’t let you down."

Update 7:35 p.m.: CNN and The Washington Post are both projecting that in the 6th Congressional District, Republican state Sen. Randy Fine defeated Democrat Josh Weil with 56.5 percent for the GOP candidate to 42.8 percent for Weil. The House seat was formerly held by Michael Waltz, who resigned to become national security adviser.

Original story as follows:

FLORIDA — Two special elections will determine who takes over seats vacated by U.S. Reps. Matt Gaetz and Michael Waltz, both Republicans, in two of Florida’s GOP strongholds. Polls closed at 7 p.m. Eastern Time across much of the state Tuesday.

Polls in the Panhandle close at 8 p.m. Central Time. Because Florida has two time zones, preliminary election night results won’t be released statewide until 8 p.m. Eastern Time, election officials said.

Election results can be found online at the Florida Election Watch website.

Despite the seats being in Republican areas, Democrats hope to flip them and narrow even further the GOP’s 218 to 213 majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

CNN's unofficial vote count showed that in the 6th Congressional District, Republican state Sen. Randy Fine has 62,410 votes compared to 54,652 votes for Democrat Josh Weil.

One survey has the Republican, Fine, with a lead over Democrat Josh Weil within the margin of error in the 6th District race, while an internal Republican poll showed Fine running second, Newsweek reported Tuesday.

1st Congressional District

In the 1st Congressional District, which borders Alabama on the Gulf Coast in the westernmost part of the Panhandle, Republican Jimmy Patronis and Democrat Gay Valimont are running to replace Gaetz.

Patronis, the state’s chief financial officer, received Trump’s endorsement in the crowded 10-person primary.

Valimont is a gun control activist. She challenged Gaetz for the seat in November and received 34 percent of the vote.

6th Congressional District

In the 6th Congressional District, on the Atlantic Coast and including Daytona Beach, the candidates are Republican state Sen. Randy Fine and Democrat Josh Weil, a public school educator in Osceola County.

Fine represents a Brevard County-based state Senate district located outside the boundaries of the Palm Coast-area U.S. House seat he hopes to fill. He won a three-way primary on Jan. 28 with Trump’s endorsement.

Trump easily won both districts by more than 30 points in November, CNN reported.

Democrats have poured millions into the two special elections. They’re especially hopeful about the 6th Congressional District race, where Weil has out-raised Trump-endorsed Fine by a nearly 10-to-1 margin.

“The floodgates have really opened,” said Aubrey Jewett, a political scientist at the University of Central Florida. “It’s like, wow.”

Top Republicans have been unimpressed by Fine’s campaign, CNN reported. A Trump adviser recently confronted him about stepping up, House GOP campaign chief Richard Hudson and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer each separately told Fine to “get his (expletive) together,” the media outlet said.

To avert unexpected losses — especially in the 6th Congressional District — Trump called into two tele-town halls to support Fine and Elon Musk’s America PAC spent more than $76,000 in the race last week, The Hill reported.

With donations for the Democrats flooding in from all 50 states, Republicans are funneling resources into the races in the hopes the GOP won't “get embarrassed” by a better-than-expected showing by Democrats.

“I want it to be a landslide,” said Doug Stauffer, chair of the GOP in Okaloosa County, which is part of the 1st District. “And if it’s not, then we haven’t done the right thing for the constituents.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is already pushing the message that if Democrats overperform in the districts, resistance to Trump’s second term could help them take back the House in 2026.

“These are races that should not under ordinary circumstances be on anyone’s political radar. They are safe Republican seats that Donald Trump won by more than 30 points,” Jeffries told reporters this week. “The American people are not buying what the Republicans are selling. That is why they are on the run.”

This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.