Republicans pad U.S. House majority with two Florida special election wins

Republicans padded their slim U.S. House majority Tuesday after winning two Florida special elections to replace a pair of members who resigned their seats.

In the 6th Congressional District, state Sen. Randy Fine was projected to defeat Democrat Josh Weil with about 56% of the vote with 98% of ballots counted, according to unofficial results. The race was necessitated by the resignation of former U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz, a Republican who became President Donald Trump’s national security advisor.

Tuesday’s outcome was closer than Waltz’s last race, when he won by 34 points.

Florida Republican Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis was the projected winner over Democrat Gay Valimont with 56% of the unofficial vote tally with 93% counted to replace former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz in Florida’s 1st Congressional District.

Gaetz resigned his U.S. House seat after being nominated by Trump to be the U.S. attorney general, but he later dropped out of the running because the Republican firebrand and Trump ally faced a tough confirmation vote in the U.S. Senate due to a House ethics investigation.

Trump instead nominated former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was easily confirmed.

With the wins, the GOP will pad their U.S. still slim House majority to 220 seats to 213 for Democrats.