What two Florida congressional races could reveal [View all]

By Mary Ellen Klas / Bloomberg Opinion

Florida holds two special congressional elections on Tuesday in districts where President Trump won more than 60 percent of the votes. They’ll be closely watched to see if that margin — which months ago seemed effortless for Republicans to sustain in the president’s home state — has melted away.

Fueled by a surge of support from grass-roots Democratic donors and volunteers from across the country, Democrats Gay Valimont, a gun control activist, and Josh Weil, a teacher, are dramatically out-raising their Republican opponents and outperforming expectations in early voting.

In the Congressional District 1 race to replace former Congressman Matt Gaetz, who resigned from Congress after being nominated as Trump’s nominee for attorney general (then withdrew), Valimont has raised more than $6.5 million, three times more than Republican Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s chief financial officer, who has raised $2.1 million.

The numbers are even better for Weil, who is running against Republican Randy Fine, a state senator, in the race to replace Congressman Mike Waltz, now Trump’s national security adviser. Weil has raised more than $9.4 million — mostly in sums of under $200 — compared to Fine’s $987,000.

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