A trio of elections Tuesday provided early warning signs to Republicans and President Donald Trump at the beginning of an ambitious term, as Democrats rallied against his efforts to slash the federal government and the outsized role being played by billionaire Elon Musk.

In the marquee race for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat, the conservative judge endorsed by Trump and backed by Musk and his groups to the tune of $21 million lost by a significant margin in a state the president won in November. And while Florida Republicans held two of the most pro-Trump House districts in the country, both candidates also significantly underperformed Trump’s November margins.

The elections — the first major contests since Trump’s return to power — were seen as an early measure of voter sentiment as Trump works with unprecedented speed to dramatically upend the federal government, clashing with the courts and seeking revenge as he tests the bounds of presidential power.

The party that loses the presidency in November typically picks up seats in the next midterm elections, and Tuesday’s results provided hope for Democrats — who have faced a barrage of internal and external criticism about their response to Trump — that they can follow that trend.

Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist and podcaster whose group worked alongside Musk to boost conservative Brad Schimel in Wisconsin, argued Tuesday’s Supreme Court loss underscored a fundamental challenge for Republicans, particularly in races where Trump is not on the ballot.

“We did a lot in Wisconsin, but we fell short. We must realize and appreciate that we are the LOW PROP party now,” he said, referring to low-propensity voters who don’t regularly cast ballots. “The party has been remade. Special elections and off-cycle elections will continue to be a problem without a change of strategy.”

Major shifts in Wisconsin

Trump won Wisconsin in November by 0.8 percentage points, or fewer than 30,000 votes. In the first major test since he took office, the perennial battleground state shifted significantly to the left.

Sauk County, northwest of the state capital of Madison, is a state bellwether. Trump won it in November by 626 votes. Sauk shifted 16 points in the direction of Judge Susan Crawford, the liberal favorite backed by national Democrats and liberal billionaire donors like George Soros.

In addition to strong turnout in Democratic-heavy areas, Crawford did measurably better in the suburban Milwaukee counties that Republicans rely on to run up their margins statewide.

Crawford won Kenosha and Racine counties, both of which went for Trump over Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. She was on pace to win by 9 points.

In interviews with more than 20 voters in Waunakee, a politically mixed town north of Madison, several Democrats suggested without prompting that their vote was as much if not more of a repudiation of Trump’s first months in office as it was a decision on the direction of the state high court.

“This is our chance to say no,” said Linda Grassl, a retired OB-GYN registered nurse, after voting at the Waunakee Public Library corridor Tuesday.

Others disliked the richest man in the world playing such a prominent role.

“I don’t like Elon Musk spending money for an election he should have no involvement in,” said Antonio Gray, a 38-year-old Milwaukee security guard. “They should let the voters vote for who they want to vote for instead of inserting themselves like they have.”

Republicans warn against drawing national conclusions

Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said that part of the challenge for Republicans had been “trying to connect the dots” to turn the state Supreme Court race into one about Trump — a difficult task in a state judicial race.

“If you’re somebody who showed up for Trump because you feel forgotten, you don’t typically show up to vote in” these kinds of elections, he said, imagining voters asking themselves: “What does this have to do with Trump?”

Still, Walker cautioned against reading the tea leaves too closely.

“I’d be a little bit careful about reading too much into what happens nationally,” he said.

Trump had better luck in Florida, where Republican Randy Fine won his special election in the 6th District to replace Rep. Mike Waltz, who stepped down to serve as Trump’s national security adviser. But Fine’s Democratic challenger, Josh Weil, lost by 14 points less than five months after Waltz won the district by 33.

“This is the functional equivalent of Republicans running a competitive race in the district that is represented by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries beforehand, invoking a liberal favorite whom Trump often denigrates. “Kamala Harris won that district by 30 points. Do you think a Republican would even be competitive in that district in New York, currently held by Alex? Of course, not.”

Jimmy Patronis, the state’s chief financial officer, fended off a challenge from Democrat Gay Valimont to win the northwest Florida seat vacated by Matt Gaetz but also underperformed Gaetz’s last margin of victory.

The pair of wins gave Republicans a 220-213 margin in the House of Representatives, at a time when concerns about a thin GOP majority led Trump to pull the nomination of New York Rep. Elise Stefanik to be United Nations ambassador.

For voters in both districts, the clear draw was Trump.

Teresa Horton, 72, didn’t know much at all about Tuesday’s election — but said she didn’t need to.

“I don’t even know these people that are on there,” she said of her ballot. “I just went with my ticket.”

Brenda Ray, 75, a retired nurse, said she didn’t know a lot about Patronis, either, but cast her ballot for him because she believes he’ll “vote with our president.”

“That’s all we’re looking for,” she said.

Both Patronis and Fine were badly outraised by their Democratic challengers. Michael Whatley, chairman of the Republican National Committee, argued that what was a GOP concern before Tuesday night had been a sign of the party’s strength.

“The American people sent a clear message tonight: they want elected officials who will advance President Trump’s America First agenda, and their votes can’t be bought by national Democrats,” he said in a statement.

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Associated Press writers Stephany Matat in Daytona Beach, Florida, Kate Payne in Pensacola, Christine Fernando in Milwaukee, Mark Vancleave in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Tom Beaumont in Waunakee, Wisconsin, and Matt Brown in Washington in contributed to this report.

Jill Colvin, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans said they are pushing ahead on President Donald Trump’sbig bill of tax breaks and spending cuts this week, even though they’re punting some of the most difficult decisions — including the costs and how to pay for the multitrillion-dollar package — until later.

The Senate GOP’s budget framework would be the companion to the House Republicans’ $4.5 trillion tax cuts package that also calls for slashing some $2 trillion from health care and other programs. If the Senate can move the blueprint forward, it edges Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill closer to a compromise setting the stage for a final product in the weeks ahead.

“Obviously we are hopeful this week we can get a budget resolution on the floor that will unlock the process,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. “And so we are continuing to move forward with that.”

While big differences remain, Republicans face increasing political pressure to deliver on what is expected to be Trump’s signature domestic policy package — extending the tax cuts, which were initially approved in 2017, during his first term at the White House. Those tax breaks expire at the end of the year, and Trump wants to expand them to include new no taxes on tipped wages, overtime pay and other earnings, as he promised on the campaign trail.

Democrats are preparing to oppose the GOP tax plans as giveaways to the wealthy, coming as billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is taking a “chainsaw” to the federal government. They warn Republicans plan to slash government programs and services that millions of Americans depend on nationwide.

“We are standing together against the GOP tax scam and in defense of the American people,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said alongside others on the Capitol steps late Tuesday.

One main sticking point between the House and Senate GOP plans has been over whether the existing tax cuts, which are estimated to cost the federal government $4.5 trillion over the decade in lost revenue, need to be paid for by spending reductions elsewhere. Adding Trump’s new tax breaks to the package would balloon the price tag even higher.

To offset the costs, House Republicans are demanding some $2 trillion in cuts to health care and other accounts to stem the nation’s federal deficits and prevent the nation’s $36 trillion debt load from skyrocketing.

But GOP senators have a different approach. Senate Republicans take the view that since the tax cuts are already the current policy, they would not be new — and would not need to be paid for. They want to use this current policy baseline moving forward, meaning only Trump’s other proposed tax breaks would come with a new cost. They are expected to set much lower spending cuts as a floor that can be raised, if needed, to compromise with the House’s $2 trillion in cuts.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and top Democrats call the Senate GOP’s approach a gimmick at best — if not an outright “lie.”

“It is an obscene fraud and the American people won’t stand for it,” said Schumer, Sen. Jeff Merkley of the Budget Committee and Sen. Ron Wyden of the Finance Committee in a letter to GOP leadership.

Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey argued against the GOP baseline as “a gimmick” that would slash important federal services while growing deficits.

“What they’re investing in is bigger tax cuts for the wealthiest,” Booker said during a landmark overnight speech.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and congressional GOP leaders have been meeting privately as Trump’s priority package churns on Capitol Hill. At a meeting with other Senate Republicans late Monday at the Capitol, Bessent urged them to get it done.

“We just got to start voting,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, as he exited the Monday evening session.

“Treasury secretary made the point that this was something we needed to do — and do it quickly,” Cornyn said, adding the plan was for the Senate to launch the voting this week. “We’re going to grind through it.”

Typically, the current policy baseline proposal would need to pass the muster of the Senate’s nonpartisan parliamentarian, to make sure it abides by the strict rules of the budget process. Senators from both parties have been arguing in closed-door sessions with the parliamentarian staff — for and against the idea.

However, the GOP leaders say they don’t necessarily need the Senate parliamentarian, at this point, to resolve the issue, and they believe the Senate Budget chairman, Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., should simply use his perch to allow their current policy baseline approach.

What is more certain is that they want to move quickly this week to pass the framework. That will entail a lengthy all-night vote — often called a vote-a-rama with consideration of various amendments and procedures — that could drag into the weekend. Then, they will sort out the details later as the Republicans, facing Democratic opposition, build the actual package for consideration in the weeks if not months ahead.

Lisa Mascaro And Kevin Freking, The Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Democratic-backed candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court defeated a challenger endorsed by President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday, touting her victory as a win against “the richest man in the world” and cementing a liberal majority for at least three more years.

Susan Crawford, a Dane County judge who led legal fights to protect union power and abortion rights and to oppose voter ID, stood on stage surrounded by the court’s four current liberal justices and celebrated her win as a victory for democracy while also taking a dig at Musk.

“Growing up in Chippewa Falls, I never could have imagined that I would be taking on the richest man in the world for justice in Wisconsin,” Crawford said. “And we won.”

Musk and groups he backed had spent more than $21 million in an effort to defeat Crawford. Musk even traveled to Wisconsin two days before the election to personally hand over $1 million checks to two voters.

“Today Wisconsinites fended off an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our fair elections and our Supreme Court,” Crawford said in her victory speech. “And Wisconsin stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price, our courts are not for sale.”

Crawford defeated Republican-backed Brad Schimel in a race that broke records for spending, was the highest-turnout Wisconsin Supreme Court election ever and became a proxy fight for the nation’s political battles.

Musk was silent on his X platform in the wake of Crawford’s victory, reposting a message about Vietnam and tariffs but nothing on the Supreme Court contest.

Trump, Musk and other Republicans lined up behind Schimel, a former state attorney general. Democrats including former President Barack Obama and billionaire megadonor George Soros backed Crawford.

The first major election in the country since November was seen as a litmus test of how voters feel about Trump’s first months back in office and the role played by Musk, whose Department of Government Efficiency has torn through federal agencies and laid off thousands of workers. Musk traveled to Wisconsin on Sunday to make a pitch for Schimel and personally hand out to $1 million checks to voters.

Turnout surpassed the previous record for a court race, set in 2023, and spending was on its way to pass $100 million, which would double the 2023 record.

Schimel told his supporters he had conceded to Crawford, leading to yells of anger. One woman began to chant, “Cheater, cheater!”

“No,” Schimel said. “You’ve got to accept the results.”

Schimel played bass with his classic rock cover band at his election night party both before and after conceding defeat, covering songs by the Allman Brothers, Tom Petty and others.

A state race with nationwide significance

The court can decide election-related laws and settle disputes over future election outcomes.

“Wisconsin’s a big state politically, and the Supreme Court has a lot to do with elections in Wisconsin,” Trump said Monday. “Winning Wisconsin’s a big deal, so therefore the Supreme Court choice … it’s a big race.”

Crawford embraced the backing of Planned Parenthood and other abortion rights advocates, running ads that highlighted Schimel’s opposition to the procedure. She also attacked Schimel for his ties to Musk and Republicans, referring to Musk as “Elon Schimel” during a debate.

Schimel’s campaign tried to portray Crawford as weak on crime and puppet of Democrats who, if elected, would push to redraw congressional district boundary lines to hurt Republicans and repeal a GOP-backed state law that took collective bargaining rights away from most public workers.

Voters in Eau Claire seemed to respond to both messages. Jim Seeger, a 68-year-old retiree, said he voted for Schimel because he was concerned about redistricting.

Jim Hazelton, a 68-year-old disabled veteran, said he had planned to abstain but voted for Crawford after Musk — whom he called a “pushy billionaire” — and Trump got involved.

“He’s cutting everything,” Hazelton said of Musk. “People need these things he’s cutting.”

What’s on the court’s agenda?

Crawford’s win keeps the court under a 4-3 liberal majority, as it has been since 2023. A liberal justice is not up for election again until April 2028, ensuring liberals will either maintain or increase their hold on the court until then.

Crawford thanked each of the current liberal justices and hugged each of them after her win. One of the four is retiring, creating the open seat she won.

The court likely will be deciding cases on abortion, public sector unions, voting rules and congressional district boundaries. Who controls the court also could factor into how it might rule on any future voting challenge in the perennial presidential battleground state, which raised the stakes of the race for national Republicans and Democrats.

Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, campaigned for Schimel in the closing weeks and said electing him was essential to protecting the Republican agenda. Trump endorsed Schimel just 11 days before the election.

Last year the court declined to take up a Democratic-backed challenge to congressional lines, but Schimel and Musk have said that if Crawford won, the court would redraw congressional districts to make them more favorable to Democrats.

Musk pushed that message on election day, both on TV and on X, urging people to cast ballots in the final hours.

Schimel, who leaned into his Trump endorsement in the closing days of the race, said he would not be beholden to the president or Musk.

Crawford benefitted from campaign stops by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the vice presidential nominee last year, and money from billionaire megadonors including Soros and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.

Record-breaking donations

The contest was the most expensive court race on record in the U.S., with spending nearing $99 million, according to a tally by the Brennan Center for Justice. That broke the previous record of $51 million record, for the state’s Supreme Court race in 2023.

Musk contributed $3 million to the campaign, while groups he funded poured in another $18 million. Musk also gave $1 million each to three voters who signed a petition he circulated against “activist” judges.

Schimel leaned into his support from Trump while saying he would not be beholden to the president or Musk. Democrats have centered their messaging on the spending by Musk-funded groups.

“Ultimately I think it’s going to help Susan Crawford, because people do not want to see Elon Musk buying election after election after election,” Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler said Monday. “If it works here, he’s going to do it all over the country.”

Voters weigh in on Musk and reasons for whom they backed

At a polling place in Waunakee near Madison, 39-year-old Iraq War veteran Taylor Sullivan said he voted for Schimel for no reasons connected to Trump or Musk, but rather “because I support the police as much as Schimel does.”

In Milwaukee, 22-year-old college student Kenneth Gifford said he feels that Trump has done damage to American institutions and that Musk is trying to buy votes.

“I want an actual, respectable democracy,” he said.

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Associated Press writers Christine Fernando in Pewaukee, Wisconsin; Ali Swenson in New York; Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta; Thomas Beaumont in Madison, Wisconsin; and Mark Vancleave in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, contributed to this report.

Scott Bauer, The Associated Press

Judge Susan Crawford preserved liberals’ narrow majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court Tuesday by defeating conservative Brad Schimel, but in a way the real loser of the election was billionaire Elon Musk.

Musk and his affiliated groups sunk at least $21 million into the normally low-profile race and paid three individual voters $1 million each for signing a petition in an effort to goose turnout in the pivotal battleground state contest. That made the race the first major test of the political impact of Musk, whose prominence in President Donald Trump’s administration has skyrocketed with his chaotic cost-cutting initiative that has slashed federal agencies.

Crawford and the Democrats who backed her made Musk the focus of their arguments for holding the seat, contending he was “buying” the election, which set records for the costliest judicial race in history.

“Today Wisconsinites fended off an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our fair elections and our Supreme Court,” Crawford said in her victory speech. “And Wisconsin stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price, our courts are not for sale.”

Trump endorsed Schimel as the race turned into a proxy fight over national political issues. The state’s high court can rule on cases involving voting rights and redistricting in a state likely to be at the center of both next year’s midterm elections and the 2028 presidential contest.

But Musk’s involvement dialed those dynamics up to 11: “A seemingly small election could determine the fate of Western civilization,” the billionaire said Tuesday in a last-ditch call to voters on his social media site X. “I think it matters for the future of the world.”

Musk was silent on his X platform in the wake of Crawford’s victory, reposting a message about Vietnam and tariffs but nothing on the Supreme Court contest. The platform was rife with criticism for his involvement in the contest, however, with critics from The Lincoln Project to former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger gleefully circulating unflattering characterizations of the mogul, given the loss.

“Please send @elonmusk to all the close races!” Jon Favreau, former speechwriter for President Barack Obama, wrote.

“Elon Musk is not good at this,” J.B. Pritzker, Illinois’ Democratic governor and a billionaire himself who donated to support Crawford, posted on X.

Voters definitely had Musk on their minds.

“There’s an insane situation going on with the Trump administration, and it feels like Elon Musk is trying to buy votes,” said Kenneth Gifford, a 22-year-old Milwaukee college student, as he cast his ballot on Tuesday. “I want an actual, respectable democracy.”

Others may not have had their vote decided by the billionaire but were all-too aware of the money pouring into their state.

Jim Seeger, a 68-year-old retiree who previously worked in communications and marketing, said he voted for Schimel because he wants Republicans to maintain their outsized majority in Wisconsin’s congressional delegation, which could be at risk if Crawford wins and the court orders the maps redrawn. But, he added, he was disappointed the election had become a “financial race.”

“I think it’s a shame that we have to spend this much money, especially on a judicial race,” Seeger said as he voted in Eau Claire.

Wisconsin’s Democratic Attorney General, Josh Kaul, sued to bar Musk from making his payments to voters if they signed a petition against “activist judges.” The state Supreme Court unanimously declined to rule on the case over a technicality.

Musk swooped into the race shortly after Trump’s inauguration. Republicans were pessimistic about being able to win the seat. They lost a longtime conservative majority on the state high court in 2023, and Democrats have excelled in turning out their educated, politically tuned-in coalition during obscure elections such as the one in Wisconsin.

Musk duplicated and expanded on some of the methods he used in the final weeks of last year’s presidential race, when he spent more than $200 million on Trump’s behalf in the seven swing states, including Wisconsin.

This time, in addition to the $1 million checks, Musk offered to pay $20 to anyone who signed up on his group’s site to knock on doors for Schimel and posted a photo of themselves as proof. His organization promised $100 to every voter who signed the petition against liberal judges and another $100 for every signer they referred.

America PAC, the super PAC fueled by Musk, had spent $6 million as of Tuesday on voter canvassing for Schimel, according to an analysis by the non-partisan campaign finance tracking group Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

Democrats were happy to make Musk a lightning rod in the race.

“People do not want to see Elon Musk buying election after election after election,” Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler said Monday. “If it works here, he’s going to do it all over the country.”

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Associated Press writers Thomas Beaumont in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Meg Kinnard in Washington contributed to this report.

Nicholas Riccardi, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press declared that Dane County Judge Susan Crawford won a pivotal seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court based on the large leads she built in the state’s population centers and Democratic strongholds. That outweighed Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel’s leads in more Republican areas across the state.

Crawford’s victory allows liberal-leaning justices on the court to maintain their current 4-3 majority.

The AP only declares a winner once it can determine that a trailing candidate can’t close the gap and overtake the vote leader. It declared Crawford the winner at 10:16 p.m. EDT Tuesday, with roughly two-thirds of the estimated total vote counted.

The AP’s analysis of the race determined that the remaining votes to be counted throughout the state — particularly in the city of Milwaukee — greatly favored Crawford and closed off any path for Schimel to take the lead.

Although seats on the court are officially nonpartisan, Crawford had the backing of the state and national Democratic establishment. Schimel was the favorite of Republicans, winning an endorsement from President Donald Trump and getting sizable financial backing from top Trump adviser Elon Musk.

Here’s a look at how the AP called this race:

CANDIDATES: Crawford vs. Schimel

POLL CLOSING TIME: 9 p.m. EDT

ABOUT THE RACE:

Liberal-leaning justices gained a 4-3 majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2023 for the first time in 15 years. But the retirement announcement of a liberal justice last April gave conservatives an opportunity to retake the majority ahead of high-profile cases on abortion, unions, congressional district boundaries and voting rights.

The election is the first major indication of Wisconsin’s political climate since Trump carried the state and recaptured the White House in November. The race has gained national attention, with spending approaching $100 million, much of it from Musk and his affiliated political action committees.

In the 2023 Supreme Court race, Democrat-backed Janet Protasiewicz defeated Republican-backed former Justice Dan Kelly by an 11-point margin, 55% to 44%. The following year, Trump edged Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris by a margin of 0.86 percentage points, the closest outcome of any state in the presidential election.

WHY AP CALLED THE RACE:

At the time the race was called, Crawford was outperforming President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory over Trump throughout the state, most notably in the most populous counties of Milwaukee and Dane, which is home to Madison.

Schimel, on the other hand, was underperforming Trump in almost every county in the state, including in the so-called “WOW” counties outside of Milwaukee that successful Republican-backed candidates typically rely on to help offset Democratic advantages in urban areas. Schimel lead Crawford in the counties of Washington, Ozaukee and his home base of Waukesha but fell short of the benchmarks set by Trump in his presidential campaigns.

Crawford had received more that three-quarters of the vote in the state’s most Democratic-friendly areas, far greater than Schimel’s lead over Crawford in the state’s most Republican areas.

Schimel was comfortably ahead of Crawford in Brown County, home to Green Bay, one of the state’s population centers that tends to favor Republicans. Protasiewicz carried the county over the conservative candidate in the 2023 Supreme Court race.

Robert Yoon, The Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Susan Crawford, winner of Tuesday’s race to fill a key seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, was backed by national Democrats and made opposition to Elon Musk a centerpiece of her campaign.

Here’s what to know about her:

A longtime judge in Wisconsin’s capital city

Crawford, 60, has served as a Dane County Circuit Court judge since 2018.

She won election to the seat that year and again in 2022 in the county, which is home to the liberal state capital, Madison.

Crawford previously worked as an assistant attorney general for both the Iowa and Wisconsin departments of justice and as an attorney in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

In 2009, she joined Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle’s staff as his legal counsel. After Doyle left office in 2011, Crawford joined a liberal Madison law firm that filed numerous lawsuits challenging Republican-enacted laws.

In that role she represented Planned Parenthood in a pair of cases challenging limitations to abortion. She also spoke against the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. Two cases challenging an 1849 Wisconsin abortion ban law are pending before the state Supreme Court.

She represented unions in a landmark case

Crawford represented public teacher unions in a case challenging a GOP law that effectively ended collective bargaining for teachers and most other public workers.

That law, known as Act 10, was the centerpiece of Republican former Gov. Scott Walker’s tenure and made Wisconsin the center of the national debate over union rights.

Last year a Dane County judge struck down most of the statute as unconstitutional, and an appeal is expected to reach the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Crawford also fought a Republican-written law requiring voters to show photo ID at the polls.

She grew up in Chippewa Falls and graduated from Lawrence University in Appleton in 1987 and the University of Iowa College of Law in 1994.

Crawford lives in Madison and is married with two children.

Scott Bauer, The Associated Press

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s Republican chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis fended off a challenge by Democrat Gay Valimont to win Tuesday’s special election for northwest Florida’s 1st Congressional District, which President Donald Trump carried by about 37 points in November.

Patronis, who was endorsed by Trump, was the heavy favorite for the reliably conservative seat, which opened up after former Rep. Matt Gaetz was tapped to be Trump’s attorney general. Gaetz later withdrew himself from consideration amid allegations of sexual misconduct, which he has denied.

Here’s what to know about Patronis:

He’s a familiar face in Florida politics

Patronis’ family founded the well-known Panama City restaurant Capt. Anderson’s, located along the Gulf of Mexico. He has been involved in Florida politics since he was in college, interning in the state Senate before being elected to the state House in 2006. He was appointed by then-Gov. Rick Scott to become the state’s CFO in 2017 and won races to keep the Cabinet-level office in 2018 and 2022.

Patronis won the endorsement of Trump in November, which appeared to head off a more robust Republican primary, even though Patronis doesn’t live in the district.

He faced a tougher than expected challenger

Patronis was far outraised and outspent by his Democratic opponent, who pulled in more than $6 million from donors in all 50 states, according to the most recent campaign finance reports.

Valimont focused on Trump’s push to fire federal workers and dismantle federal agencies, as well as to tie Patronis to Florida’s property insurance crisis. His office helps regulate insurance in the state, which has some of the highest rates in the country.

Even Trump got involved

National Democrats had pointed to their massive fundraising hauls in the conservative oasis of Florida as a sign voters are dissatisfied with the Republican president’s second term. They were hoping to carve into the GOP’s margin of victory in the 1st District as they work to build grassroots support and raise more money ahead of the 2026 midterms.

In the final days of the campaign, the president directly got involved, joining Patronis by telephone on a tele-town hall to help get out the vote in what he called the “all-important” April 1 election.

“The whole country’s actually watching this one,” Trump said of the race.

___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Kate Payne, The Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida state Sen. Randy Fine won Tuesday’s special election for a vacant congressional seat that the president carried by 30 points less than five months ago.

The Trump-backed Republican had faced mounting pressure from his party in the final days of the campaign after Democrat Josh Weil outraised Fine by a nearly 10-to-1 margin. Democrats outraged by President Donald Trump ’s second term poured millions of dollars into the campaign for Florida’s 6th Congressional District.

The seat opened up after Mike Waltz was tapped to be Trump’s national security adviser in what was widely seen then as a move without much political risk.

Here’s what to know about Fine:

He’s a self-described ‘conservative firebrand’

Fine is known for his socially conservative stances and combative approach to politics. A fierce defender of Israel, he’s embraced the nickname “Hebrew Hammer.”

Fine has also backed some of the state’s most controversial proposals, cosponsoring a bill restricting how gender and sexuality can be discussed in public schools, a measure that critics labeled the “Don’t Say Gay” law.

He’s clashed with DeSantis

Once an ally of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Florida Legislature, Fine publicly turned on the governor to endorse Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign. Since then, Fine has become one of DeSantis’ loudest critics in the Capitol — and the dislike is mutual.

In the week before the April 1 election, the governor said he expected Fine to underperform compared to his and Trump’s performance in the district, calling it a “reflection of the specific candidate running in that race.”

He came under pressure from his own party

Fine’s bid for what’s considered a reliably conservative district north of Orlando seemed like an easy win a few months ago until national Democrats began pouring millions into Weil’s campaign.

Frustrated by Fine’s relative lack of fundraising, Republican officials worked to head off the embarrassment of a better-than-expected showing by Democrats in a district Trump carried by 30 points in November.

In the final days of the campaign, the president himself joined Fine by telephone on a tele-town hall.

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Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Kate Payne, The Associated Press