Randy Fine credits voter connection for Florida GOP resilience

By Andrew Powell (/journals/andrew-powell)

Florida Republican Rep. Randy Fine is blaming his party's national election losses on a failure to connect with voters, warning that Republicans face a difficult two years as Democrats prepare to take control of Congress. In an interview with Fox News, Fine offered his assessment of the Republican Party's poor showing nationwide while pointing to his own increasingly comfortable victory in Florida. Fine expanded his winning margin from 14 points in his previous special election to 19 points Tuesday, despite millions of dollars being spent against him. He credited his success to maintaining a direct connection with constituents and being willing to take firm positions on issues important to them. "My constituents want a fighter, someone who says what they believe," Fine said, explaining that voters appreciate representatives who stand up for them on immigration, constituent services and bringing federal resources into their districts. Fine also suggested Florida Republicans benefited from voters recognizing the state's current direction and wanting to preserve it. Republicans maintained their 20-8 advantage in Florida's U.S. House delegation while winning the state's major statewide contests. He declined to blame individual Republican leaders for the national results, instead accepting responsibility as part of the party. "We're a team and the team lost," Fine said. He argued that Republicans failed to convince Americans that the party cared about their concerns, even if that was not actually the case. With Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress, Fine expects Republicans to spend much of the next two years fighting proposals from the opposing party rather than advancing their own legislative agenda. "It's going to be an ugly two years," he said, adding that Republicans will need to explain why they believe Democratic policies would harm the country. Immigration is the issue Fine identified as his biggest concern. He accused Democrats of planning to reopen the border, pursue mass amnesty and abandon expectations that immigrants assimilate into American society. Fine also pointed to differences between Florida and Texas, arguing that Florida's Republican leadership, including gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds and Sen. Ashley Moody, helped the party withstand the national political environment. He expressed particular disappointment over Michigan Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed's victory, criticizing his positions on the Muslim Brotherhood and other national security issues. Fine also declined to endorse either Rep. Jim Jordan or Rep. Steve Scalise in the discussions over the next House Republican leader, noting that outgoing Speaker Mike Johnson had removed himself from consideration. Despite his frustration with the national results, Fine said he was prepared for the coming congressional battles.

Read the full story on IJR