
Republicans to hold two seats in Florida congressional races, CNN projects, shoring up narrow House majority
CNN
Republicans will hold onto two seats in their narrow House majority as former Florida state Sen. Randy Fine will win the special election for an open US House seat in Florida’s 6th Congressional District and Republican Jimmy Patronis will win Florida’s 1st Congressional District, according to a projection from the CNN Decision Desk.
Republicans will hold onto two seats in their narrow House majority as former Florida state Sen. Randy Fine will win the special election for an open US House seat in Florida’s 6th Congressional District and Republican Jimmy Patronis will win Florida’s 1st Congressional District, according to a projection from the CNN Decision Desk. Fine will replace national security adviser Mike Waltz in the House, and Patronis fills a seat that has been vacant since mid-November, when Trump announced former Rep. Matt Gaetz as his initial choice for attorney general. Both wins will deliver much-needed reinforcements for House Speaker Mike Johnson’s narrow majority in the House of Representatives. Few anticipated a competitive race for Waltz’s seat when he resigned in January. President Donald Trump won the district by 30 points in November, and Fine had Trump’s backing to succeed Waltz, an endorsement that carried him through the primary with few difficulties. But Fine’s Democratic opponent, math teacher Josh Weil, sent shockwaves from Florida to Washington last month when he reported raising $10 million. Fine, meanwhile, managed to bring in about $1 million through mid-March and entered the final weeks of the race with about $93,000 on hand before he loaned his campaign $400,000. The White House and House Republican leaders grew increasingly frustrated with Fine over what they saw as a lackluster campaign, fearing that a poor showing would fuel a narrative that voters were already souring on Trump. At one point, a top Trump adviser urged Fine to improve his political operation and fundraising and respond to Weil’s attacks on the airwaves, three people familiar with the conversation told CNN. Trump staged a tele-rally on Thursday to help boost Fine in the closing days. Notably, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a popular figure among Republicans in his state, declined to back Fine and blamed the longtime lawmaker for the tighter-than-expected contest.

Bent on infamy and obsessed with mass killings and school shootings, Audrey Hale extensively chronicled her grievances against her parents and others she blamed for her fraught life as she stocked up on firearms and meticulously prepared for the March 2023 massacre at a Christian school, according to a police investigative report released Wednesday.

President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs are facing blowback from all corners – a market sell-off, foreign retaliation, anger from corporate America and skepticism from the Federal Reserve chairman and some allies in Congress. So far, the president is defiant in the face of the global turbulence.