Randy Fine, left, and Josh Weil | Florida House of Representatives and Josh Weil campaign
Published on March 21, 2025 at 11:05 am
Free local news and info, in your inbox at 6 a.m. M-F. Sign up for the Jacksonville Today newsletter.
It might not be a presidential election, but the contest for U.S. House District 6 is a race that is garnering a lot of attention.
The two most prominent candidates are political newcomer Josh Weil, a Democrat, against Florida Sen. Randy Fine, a Republican endorsed by President Trump.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
The person who wins will represent people from parts of St. Johns, Flagler, Putnam and other counties in Congress.
The District 6 seat was previously occupied by Michael Waltz, a Republican from St. Augustine who gave up the seat just months after his reelection last year. President Donald Trump tapped Waltz to serve as national security adviser in the White House.
The two frontrunners
While the winner of the race will be selected by Northeast and Central Florida voters, the ballot battle between Weil and Fine is representative of national politics.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
Weil, a progressive Democrat, has pitched himself in stark opposition to the president’s policies. Fine, a hardline Trump supporter, proudly displays Trump’s endorsement of his campaign on his website.
Weil is a public schoolteacher in Central Florida with no political experience other than a short-lived bid for state Senate in 2022. He dropped out, and the Florida Democratic Party coalesced behind the more moderate candidate, Val Demings.
Although Weil’s website has since removed it, the Democrat candidate explicitly stated that a key reason he decided to run for office is his opposition to Trump and Fine’s vision for America — one he says will lead to the decimation of the Department of Justice and the Affordable Care Act.
“We can’t just sit back and allow them to destroy the last remaining vestiges of what truly makes America great. We must act now by taking on corruption and injustice head-on,” Weil’s website originally said.
The tenor of Weil’s website has changed in recent months, now stressing his outreach to small-business owners and people who feel disenfranchised by the economic policies of the Trump administration.
“We need real world solutions — not just talking points — that address real problems; such as how to afford buying a new home (and attaining the American Dream for first-time homeowners),” a statement on Weil’s website says.
He supports expanding access to health care and abortions, the passage of a “Green New Deal” and immigration reform.
Fine, however, has made it clear since he announced his plans to run for Congress that he will be a Trump Republican through and through.
His website stakes out his policy positions including his desire to “Protect Social Security and Medicare,” “Secure our borders” and “Defend the right to life and the ability to defend it via the Second Amendment.”
But Fine’s recent barbs against Weil have not had to do with the policy positions he lays out on his campaign website. Fine has taken to attacking Weil on social media with a provocative name referencing his connections to the Islamic Center in Orlando: “Jihadi Josh.”
Fine amped up attacks on his opponent after a door-knocker associated with the Weil campaign was arrested in Flagler County on burglary charges. A third-party organization had contracted the individual to canvas for Weil, and the Weil campaign said it had no connections to the individual.
In the wake of the arrest, Fine held a news conference and called for Weil himself to be arrested.
But beyond the bluster of the race is a numbers game. Registered Republicans far outnumber the amount of registered Democrats in every county included in Congressional District 6.
As of early January, the two candidates’ finances told a similar story — Fine had out-fundraised Weil by around $200,000.
Who’s supporting whom?
According to his website, Fine’s endorsements are numerous: from members of the Putnam County Commission and every elected sheriff in the district, all the way up to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and the National Rifle Association.
Weil, however, is endorsed by groups like Progressive Democrats of America, Social Security Works and other progressive politicians.
Fine spent the early part of the year campaigning around Florida — including a stop in the Trump-owned Mar-a-Lago resort — but has, since earlier this month, been in Tallahassee in his capacity as a senator.
Weil has been campaigning, too, but in a mode more similar to Democrats on the national stage. He visited Hastings as part of a Florida Democratic Party’s effort to host town halls in conservative districts, and some of his recent campaign events have included sharing the stage with celebrities like rapper Killer Mike and singer Patti Labelle.
In addition to the two high-profile candidates, the ballot will include Libertarian candidate Andrew Parrott and Randall Terry, who is not affiliated with a political party. A write-in candidate, Chuck Sheridan, is also running for the seat.
Of the candidates running for office, none currently live in the district they’re running to represent.
Election details
Early voting begins all throughout District 6 on Saturday and runs until March 29.
Polls open on Election Day, April 1, at 7 a.m. and will be open until 7 p.m.
To determine if you are eligible to vote in the race, go to the website for your county’s Supervisor of Elections Office.
