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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis didn’t hold back this week when asked about Republican Rep.-elect Randy Fine’s special election win in Florida’s 6th Congressional District.
Instead of offering congratulations, DeSantis used the moment to deliver a blistering critique of Fine’s political record, labeling him a “squish” and suggesting that President Trump had to “bail him out” to prevent a near loss.
The comments come amid growing fractures within the Republican Party — particularly in Florida, where DeSantis’s political star once burned brightest. Now, with Trump reasserting dominance over the GOP and DeSantis’s national ambitions appearing to fade, Fine’s victory and DeSantis’s sharp response point to a deeper power struggle between two competing visions for the Republican future.
“I think you have a candidate in Randy Fine, who, one, he’s a squish,” DeSantis said during a press conference in Ocala on Tuesday.
“He supported restrictions on Second Amendment rights back in 2018. He tried to defeat my immigration proposal to help President Trump enforce immigration laws. He tried to make Florida a de facto sanctuary state.”
Fine’s victory came in a special election to replace national security adviser Mike Waltz, who vacated the seat to join Trump’s team. Though Fine won by about 14 percentage points, his margin was significantly narrower than past Republican wins in the solid-red district.
In 2020, Trump won the district by over 30 points, and in his 2022 reelection, DeSantis carried it by 37 points.
Even Waltz had coasted to victory by more than 30 points in his previous congressional race. “It’s an underperformance,” DeSantis emphasized. “And I think it’s unique to the candidate.”
The governor argued that Fine’s policy positions had alienated conservative voters and that Trump’s late-stage endorsement was the only thing that kept the race from being “much closer.” “If anything, it shows the president has got the juice to get Republicans to go out on Election Day and even vote for a candidate that they’re not crazy about.”
Rep.-elect Randy Fine didn’t stay silent for long. Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, he fired a poetic shot back at DeSantis. “A dying star burns hottest before it fades into oblivion,” Fine posted, clearly referencing the governor’s diminishing national presence.
He followed with a pledge of loyalty to Trump: “I’m focused on working with @realDonaldTrump to stop Democrats from taking this country backwards, not working with them. Let’s go.”
The statement marks the latest public clash between Fine and DeSantis, who have shared an increasingly tense relationship ever since Fine withdrew his endorsement of DeSantis during the 2023 Republican presidential primary and threw his support behind Trump.
At the time, Fine said he was making the switch because Trump had demonstrated more “concrete support for the Jewish community,” a claim that sparked anger among DeSantis’s allies, who accused Fine of “political theater.”
The DeSantis–Fine feud isn’t just personal — it’s symbolic of a larger identity crisis within the Florida Republican Party and, by extension, the national GOP.
DeSantis, once seen as the heir apparent to Trump’s conservative base, has recently found himself in a difficult political position.
His presidential campaign lost steam after early momentum, and Trump’s growing dominance in the primaries left little oxygen for challengers — even one with DeSantis’s conservative record and national name recognition.
Fine’s win, backed by Trump, seems to underline that shift. The base still favors Trump — even if it means supporting candidates who have complicated records, like Fine’s.
DeSantis’s criticism of Fine wasn’t without substance. In 2018, following the Parkland school shooting, Fine supported certain gun control measures that many conservatives viewed as betrayals of Second Amendment rights.
He also opposed DeSantis’s immigration reform proposals, and at one point supported local legislation that critics said would have created sanctuary-like protections in Florida — a term that still triggers strong reactions in conservative circles. “When people see that, our base voters don’t get excited,” DeSantis said. “He repels people.”
That comment may ring true among certain Republican primary voters, but in this election, Trump’s endorsement appeared to override those concerns — suggesting the GOP base still puts loyalty to Trump above most policy disagreements.
Trump’s late-stage endorsement of Fine reportedly came after internal polls showed the race was tightening, raising alarms within MAGA circles. While Trump never campaigned in person for Fine, he issued statements and social media posts urging voters to turn out and “support a true America First patriot.”
According to sources familiar with the campaign, Trump’s involvement helped drive turnout among low-propensity Republican voters, giving Fine just enough edge to secure a win. “This shows what we’ve known all along,” said one Trump campaign advisor. “When Trump speaks, the base listens.”
The incident reinforces the idea that Trump remains the central gravitational force within the GOP — a reality that complicates DeSantis’s efforts to shape the party in his more disciplined, policy-focused image.
Behind closed doors, Florida Republicans are divided. While some officials have privately expressed concern that Fine’s thin margin signals weakening support among independents and swing voters, others view the public feud as distracting and damaging ahead of the 2024 general election.
“It doesn’t help to see two Republicans bashing each other on camera and online,” said a GOP strategist in Tallahassee. “We should be focused on flipping seats and beating Democrats — not each other.”
Others argue that DeSantis is simply frustrated — and perhaps rightly so — that a district he once dominated is now only marginally red under a Trump-endorsed candidate he personally dislikes.
The tension between DeSantis and Fine is not likely to cool down anytime soon. With Trump poised to run again in 2024 and DeSantis still holding power in one of the nation’s most electorally significant states, Florida is shaping up to be a key battleground not just between parties, but within them.
Fine, now heading to Congress, is expected to be a vocal Trump ally on the national stage — a position that may earn him media attention and access, but could further strain relations with Florida’s GOP establishment.
Meanwhile, DeSantis may face growing pressure from within his own party to shift away from personal battles and focus on delivering legislative wins at home.
In the end, Randy Fine’s victory — and the firestorm it sparked — serves as a reminder that in today’s Republican Party, the internal fight often burns hotter than the external one.
A governor trying to preserve conservative purity. A Congressman-elect pledging loyalty to a polarizing former president. A party wrestling with its identity — all under the glare of a national spotlight. “A dying star burns hottest before it fades into oblivion,” Fine wrote. Maybe. Or maybe Florida politics just got a whole lot hotter.
