House Republicans are brushing off reports of anxiety over three historically red congressional seats, as the special election for two of them looms just a day away.
“Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine are exactly who House Republicans need to join our team,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told Fox News Digital last week, referring to candidates running in Florida’s special election Tuesday.
Patronis is running for Florida’s 1st Congressional District, which was vacated by former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and Fine is running for Florida 6th District, previously held by former Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., who now serves as U.S. national security advisor.
Republicans have conceded they have been far outraised in those districts, and despite their likely victory, Democrats’ over-performance has reportedly raised concerns about the GOP’s fate in other areas of the country.
It comes after suggestions that GOP discord in a Republican-favored district in upstate New York made some people nervous about Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., ascending to President Donald Trump‘s nomination as ambassador to the United Nations.
Stefanik withdrew her nomination on Friday in a decision that blindsided even lower levels of House GOP leadership, sources told Fox News Digital.
Democrats immediately seized on the news as evidence that Republicans were worried about losing her seat in New York’s 21st District – something Republicans flatly denied, while blaming the state’s progressive governor for signaling she would slow-walk the special election to replace Stefanik.
“It was a combination of the New York corruption that we’re seeing under Kathy Hochul, special elections and the House margin,” Stefanik said on “Hannity” Friday. “I’ve been in the House. It’s tough to count these votes every day. And we are going to continue to defy the political prognosticators and deliver, deliver victory on behalf of President Trump and, importantly, the voters across this country.”
TRUMP ASKS STEFANIK TO WITHDRAW FROM UN AMBASSADOR CONTENTION OVER RAZOR-THIN HOUSE MAJORITY
Meanwhile, National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole told Fox News Digital, “We’d win this seat in a special election, and we’ll win it in a general election.”
Trump won the district by 20% in 2024, and Stefanik won every county during that same election cycle.
He told reporters at the White House last week, “We cannot take a chance. We have a slim margin,” and said he did not know who would be running to replace her.
But the president has also been busy at work in Florida, where he held tele-town halls for both Patronis and Fine over the weekend.
While the Democrats are the underdogs in both races, they’re winning the fundraising battle.
Democrat Gay Valimont hauled in over $6 million from Jan. 9 through March 12, compared to just $1.1 million for Patronis in Florida’s 1st District.
Orlando teacher Josh Weil grabbed plenty of national attention in recent weeks by raising $9.3 million compared to roughly $600,000 for Republican state lawmaker Fine in the Sunshine State’s 6th District.
The cash discrepancy in the 6th District race spurred GOP-aligned outside groups to make last-minute contributions in support of Fine in the closing days of the campaign, with conservative super PACs launching ads spotlighting Trump’s support of Fine.
They have no predictions of success, however, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., telling reporters earlier this month, “These districts are so Republican, there would ordinarily be no reason to believe that the races will be close, but what I can say, almost guaranteed, is that the Democratic candidate in both of these Florida special elections will significantly overperform.”
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But it has not alarmed the GOP’s core fundraising machines. Sources familiar told Fox News Digital that neither the NRCC nor the Congressional Leadership Fund – the top super PAC supporting House Republicans – are putting any resources into either race.
“I would have preferred if our candidate had raised money at a faster rate and gotten on TV quicker,” NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson, R-N.C., told reporters earlier this month.
But Hudson added that Fine is “doing what he needs to do. He’s on TV now,” and emphasized, “we’re going to win the seat. I’m not concerned at all.”
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