Both parties are on edge as a crucial April 1 House special election approaches to fill two deep-red seats in Florida.
Republicans have the advantage in the seats, formerly held by Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), each of whom left after appointments to positions in the Trump administration.
Democrats think a strong performance for their candidates could indicate that voters are growing weary of the Trump administration, a sentiment they could parlay into next year’s midterm elections.
While both races take place in deep-red districts, Democrats point to their success in a Pennsylvania state Senate special election on March 25 in a district President Donald Trump carried in 2024 as a sign that the electorate may be pushing back against his aggressive second term in office.
So far, Democrats have outraised the Republicans by millions of dollars in both Florida races. Still, the voter registration deficits in what are considered two conservative meccas in the increasingly red Sunshine State give them a steep hill to climb to pull an upset.
In the First District, Jimmy Patronis, state chief financial officer (CFO), will battle Democrat Gay Valimont. State Sen. Randy Fine will face off against Democrat Joshua Weil in the Sixth District race.
Trump has endorsed both GOP candidates in the conservative strongholds.
With the current party split in the U.S. House of Representatives, as Republicans lead 218–213, the contests would not necessarily affect control of Congress.
But anything less than a strong showing for the GOP in what are otherwise deep-red districts could be seen as an indicator of the electorate’s feelings toward the Trump administration’s record heading into the 2026 midterm elections.
At first glance, the two seats may seem out of reach for Democrats. Gaetz has consistently won his elections by 30-point margins, and Waltz did the same in 2024 in the Sixth District.
Yet some conservative commentators, such as former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, are not taking the race for granted.
“Trump won that district by 30 points in November,” Bannon said of Florida’s Sixth District on his podcast, “War Room.”
“We have a candidate that I don’t think is winning.”
Democrats are not leaving anything up for grabs, either. Both candidates have outraised their Republican opponents in the lead-up to the April 1 vote, according to Federal Elections Commission reports filed on March 20 before a pre-election deadline.
Valimont raised $6.4 million compared with Patronis’s $1.2 million, and Weil amassed $8.9 million in contrast to Fine’s roughly $560,000.
However, First District Republicans insist that the funding is not going to change the calculus of the race.
“No matter how many millions of dollars her dark Democrat donors pour into Gay Valimont’s campaign coffers, the people of Santa Rosa [County] cannot be bought,” Santa Rosa County Republican Executive Committee Chairwoman Sharon Regan told The Epoch Times.
“Santa Rosa goes to the polls on April 1 to strongly support our Trump-endorsed Republican candidate Jimmy Patronis for Congress.”
—Jacob Burg, Joseph Lord
MUSK STUMPS IN WISCONSIN
GREEN BAY, Wis.—Elon Musk drew applause from supporters at a town hall meeting yesterday in Green Bay, where he handed out $2 million to publicize a Republican-backed candidate’s race for the state Supreme Court.
“What’s happening on Tuesday is a vote for which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives,” Musk said. “And whichever party controls the House, to a significant degree, controls the country, which then steers the course of Western civilization.”
At stake are congressional district maps, which Musk said could be redrawn to favor Democrats, altering the balance of power in Congress.
Protestors rallied outside the hall against what they said was an attempt to buy a seat on the state’s high court.
Candidates are Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel, backed by Musk and Republicans, and Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford, supported by the state’s Democratic party.
Crawford has spent more than $21 million compared to Schimel’s $10 million, according to data reported by campaign finance watchdog Transparency USA.
Political action committees linked to Musk have spent more than $14 million in support of Schimel, though more than $80 million in outside funds have been spent on both candidates combined.
“Elon Musk is trying to buy Wisconsin, and we want to show him that we’re not for sale,” Kristin Lyerly, 54, of Green Bay told The Epoch Times.
Navin Jaruqumillia, 53, of Madison, was mystified by the protests against Musk. “I have no idea what the obsession with Elon Musk is,” Jaruqumillia told The Epoch Times.
“The fact that the matter is 77 percent of . . . Susan Crawford’s money came from out-of-state donors,” Jaruqumillia said.
Wisconsin’s Democratic attorney general, Josh Kaul, sued Musk and his America PAC to block the $2 million giveaway as a violation of Wisconsin law.
Musk then issued a statement saying that the cash was in exchange for publicizing a petition circulated by America PAC in opposition to judicial activism.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court later rejected Kaul’s request without comment.
The $1 million checks went to Nicholas Jacobs and Ekaterina Diestler.
Musk also announced an initiative to pay people $20 for getting prospective voters to pose for a photograph holding a picture of Schimel.
“We’re basically going to dragnet the state,” Musk said, “Everybody’s going to mobilize everywhere, like crazy, for the next 48 hours. And I think this will be important for the future of civilization.”
Election watchers agree the April 1 contest will come down to voter turnout.
—Lawrence Wilson
BOOKMARKS
Dr. Peter Marks, the Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine official submitted his letter of resignation on March 28, The Epoch Times’ Jack Phillips reported. Marks cited some of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s initiatives as his reason for stepping down, including research into vaccine safety.
While all three of the largest countries in North America are dealing with outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu, egg prices are consistently lower in Canada and Mexico than in the United States. The Epoch Times’ Austin Alonzo reported on some of the reasons for that.
Trump said that he had no intention of firing anyone in his Cabinet after a journalist was accidentally added to a Signal group chat discussing his administration’s plans for an airstrike against the Houthis in Yemen, The Epoch Times’ Jacob Burg reported. The controversy ignited a media firestorm last week when the editor of The Atlantic revealed that he was added to the chat group.
The Supreme Court is hearing two cases in the coming months that question whether the government can refuse to back religious entities or deny them exemptions under the First Amendment of the Constitution. The Epoch Times’ Sam Dorman reported on the upcoming cases, which have implications for religious rights.
Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) fielded questions from frustrated voters during a town hall. The Epoch Times’ Lawrence Wilson reported on the event, which featured around 500 guests—and was held against House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) advice to avoid such public forums amid organized protests at the events.
