DeSantis Attacks Trump-Endorsed Congressman Randy Fine After Narrow Win

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis isn’t letting up in his war of words even when it means attacking his own party’s newest congressman.

Just one day after Randy Fine won a special election to replace Rep. Mike Waltz, DeSantis publicly scorched him, blaming Fine's “unique problems” for the narrowest GOP margin in the district since 2018. Despite a 14-point win in a deep red district, DeSantis insisted the only reason Fine pulled it off was due to President Donald Trump’s late-stage endorsement and support.

“The president really had to bail him out at the end,” DeSantis said. “This race would have been much closer had the president sat on the sidelines.”

He didn’t stop there. DeSantis dismissed the idea that the tight race reflected on Trump’s agenda. Instead, he turned the spotlight squarely on Fine.

“I think you have a candidate in Randy Fine, who, one, he's a squish… voters didn’t like him.”

DeSantis even recalled how Florida lawmakers allegedly begged him to nominate Fine to a university post just to get him out of the legislature a move that failed when the school’s board threatened to resign.

The feud between the two Republicans has been simmering since 2023, when Fine ditched DeSantis and endorsed Trump in the GOP presidential primary. Fine also slammed DeSantis’ leadership in the aftermath of Hamas’ brutal October 7 attack, accusing the governor of failing to confront antisemitism.

Now that Fine is headed to Washington, DeSantis appears to be signaling that he won’t forget the betrayal. He took issue with Fine’s past support for gun control restrictions, opposition to stricter immigration enforcement, and efforts to promote sanctuary-style policies in Florida.

Fine fired back Wednesday in a post on X, accusing DeSantis of fading relevance:

“A dying star burns hottest before it fades into oblivion. I’m focused on working with President Donald Trump to stop Democrats from taking this country backwards, not working with them.”

Tensions escalated even further when Trump-aligned Republicans blasted DeSantis for refusing to support the president’s endorsed candidate, potentially suppressing GOP turnout in a critical special election.

“Ron and Casey didn’t lift a finger to help President Trump’s endorsed candidates,” a Trump-world operative told Fox News Digital. “Worse, Ron undermined Trump, attacked his candidates, and then crowed about it on Fox News.”

With the GOP’s House majority hanging by a thread, Randy Fine’s win gives Republicans a much-needed vote but DeSantis' public shots suggest Florida’s Republican civil war is far from over.

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