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Florida April Fools Day Special Election (FL-01 & FL-06) - Let's Make Fools of these Fools [1]

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Date: 2025-02-26

As many of you already know, there will be a Special Election in Florida on April 1, 2025 to fill two vacant Congressional Seats, FL-01 & FL-06. Florida-1 was Matt Gaetz’s seat which he left for it turns out, political obscurity. Florida-6 was Mike Walz’s seat which he left to take an appointment in the Orange Turd’s administration. As you also probably know the current split in the House is 218 (R) to 215 (D). Filling these two open seats with Democrats would reduce the Republican majority to 218 (R) to 217 (D), a slim 1 seat advantage.

Now before I get to the point of this diary, I know some of you might be saying,

“Doc, isn’t there a 3rd vacant seat, that of Elise Stefanik (NY-21) who was nominated by the Orange Turd to UN Ambassador?” The answer is, “not yet”.

She has not yet resigned her House seat because Speaker Johnson has made a deal with Senate Republican Majority Leader Thune to hold off on her confirmation until at least April, presumably to see how the two Florida Special Elections turn out. My guess is if Democrats were to win both Florida elections, there is no way Stefanik vacates her seat since a loss in NY-21 to a Democrat (which is entirely possible) would give Democrats a 218 to 217 majority and a Speaker Jeffries. Stefanik will be asked to, and will take one for the team by turning down her UN nomination and remain in the House. If we lose both Florida elections, she will probably resign and create a vacant NY-21. If we win one out of two, I’m not sure what will happen.

Now on to the point of this diary. That being to solicit help from the Dkos Community to get our Florida Democratic candidates elected to these vacant seats.

However, before I go on, I can already hear some of you out there saying:

“I’m tired and have nothing left to give. Left it all on the field in 2024 and got nothing to show for it.”

I hear you. I was you just a few weeks ago. Then I got to thinking about the alternative to continuing the fight, and that being waving the white flag and just take whatever misery Trump, Musk and the MAGA Republicans dish out to me. Putting it that way, and the choice for me was easy, FIGHT ON!

You also might be saying:

“These are red Trump Districts. Not worth my money or my time.”

Yes, I will admit that historically FL-01 in the northern panhandle of Florida is a red District, perhaps deep red. After all they voted for Matt Gaetz. Also, historically FL-06, on the east coast, went for Trump last November, but reportedly voted for Biden in 2020. However, I’ve used the word “historically” to help drive home the point that what was true in the past may not be true in the future, and that public political sentiment is not a stagnant thing.

Over the past weeks we have watched Town Halls in red Districts turn into screaming matches with constituents expressing anger at their Republican Representative’s unwillingness and/or inability to stop the Trump/Musk bulldozer from illegally destroying Congressionally funded programs. Now are these folks just Democrats in red Districts who are showing up, or are many Republicans who are upset about Musk’s invasion of the Federal Government, which is something they didn’t vote for. Not sure, but probably a mixture.

The point is that public political sentiment in red and purple Districts is definitely changing and is not the same as it was in the Fall of 2024. Given just 3 weeks of this Trump/Musk horror and we can already see voter regret and pushback, which is most likely to grow and expand given another full month of Trump/Musk chaos raining down upon the non-billionaire American people.

While a lot of folks on our side remain disillusioned from our 2024 loss and are not paying attention to these Florida Special Elections, I can assure you that there is a group of folks who are paying very close attention to these races. That group are Congressional Republicans. They will not necessarily be all that concerned about the GOP losing these seats, since they probably don’t consider them to be in play. But they will be looking closely at the margins. If the margin of victory for these GOP candidates is significantly less than their predecessors in 2024, it will send shockwaves through the Republican caucus. And if we happen to win one or both seats, it will be like a political atomic bomb going off for them. The big question on their minds is whether the anger they are seeing at these town halls is just coming from a handful of their Democratic constituents or is it coming from a large majority of their constituents. These two races will answer that question for them and shape their behavior going forward. By behavior I mean will they continue to support Trump/Musk and their MAGA chaos, or will they split with Trump/Musk in an attempt to save their own political asses in 2026?

Well enough about them, what about us and what we can do to help our candidates.

FL-01: Our candidate in Florida’s 1st District is Gay Valimont. She is not a politician, but a concerned community activist. Here’s her backstory from her web page:

Gay is a dedicated community member, mother, and advocate in Florida's 1st District. Having faced profound personal hardships, including the loss of her husband to ALS and her son to a brain tumor, Gay's resilience and commitment to service have shone brightly. She's running for Congress to bring compassion, integrity, and genuine representation to a district she deeply loves. Gay believes in a brighter future for Florida, grounded in community, care, and unity.

If you live in/near the western region of Florida’s panhandle, please consider volunteering to help her campaign. You can sign up through this link. If not, please consider making a donation to her campaign here. While this District may be a long shot to win, eating into the Republican’s margin of victory is a win in itself.

FL-06: Our candidate in Florida’s 6th District is Josh Weil. He is a father and a teacher and also not a career politician. Here’s his backstory from her web page:

I live in Orlando with my two boys: David & Alexander; and our cat—Chatterbox. I get up every morning and make four breakfasts and three lunches—before shuffling my kids off to school. We play Magic cards, watch hockey, and never miss a Marvel Comic Universe (MCU) film. What I am NOT is a career politician looking to maintain the status quo in Washington! I am a teacher who wants to help the people of Florida; and make a brighter future for all of us.

If you live in/near Palm Coast and Daytona or Ocala and the Villages or anywhere in between, please consider volunteering to help his campaign. You can sign up through this link. If not, please consider making a donation to his campaign here. If you consider the make up of this District, the current angry political climate and the fact that Biden won here in 2020, this is a race we can win if we try.

So let me leave you with this. We lost the Budget Bill vote last night by a single vote. If we win one or both of these Districts we can stop passage of the Appropriations Bills necessary for making this nightmare budget a reality.

So please get in the fight and help out our candidates in any way you can!

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/26/2305934/-Florida-April-Fools-Day-Special-Election-FL-01-FL-06-Let-s-Make-Fools-of-these-Fools?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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