Combative Jewish lawmaker Randy Fine, a Trump favorite, wins Florida GOP House primary

Soon after announcing his candidacy, he tweeted ‘#BombsAway’ at pro-Palestinian Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, which Muslim-rights groups and the Anti-Defamation League condemned as a threat.

By Andrew Lapin, JTA

Randy Fine, a Jewish Florida state senator whose bruising demeanor has made him a new favorite on the right, easily won the Republican primary for an open House seat.

An Associated Press estimate showed that Fine took more than 80% of the GOP vote on Tuesday. The district is deep red, making his victory in the April 1 special election all but assured.

He would replace Michael Waltz, who left Congress to become Trump’s national security advisor.

Fine decided to run in the district, even though he does not currently live there, after receiving an enthusiastic endorsement from President Donald Trump.

He did not immediately return a Jewish Telegraphic Agency request for comment on his victory. But on social media, he made clear the spiritual reason why he ran. The northeast Florida district has few Jews but many conservative Christians.

“G-d saved @realDonaldTrump’s life so he could save the world,” the state senator wrote on X. “And tonight, both of them, powered by my amazing family and all of you who voted for me, put me one step closer to being able to help him do that. I swear I won’t let any of you down.”

Fine has used his Jewish and ardent pro-Israel background to court controversy.

Soon after announcing his candidacy, he tweeted “#BombsAway” at pro-Palestinian Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, which Muslim-rights groups and the Anti-Defamation League condemned as a threat. (Fine denied he meant the remark as a threat.)

In his home state he has called progressive Jewish critics “Judenrat,” a term denoting Jewish councils who helped the Nazis.

He has also clashed with the LGBTQ community and with local judges, and was formerly a close ally of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis until Fine became frustrated with DeSantis’s handling of antisemitism and Israel issues.

Many Jews have embraced him, and he received endorsements from the Republican Jewish Coalition and the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, whom he thanked on X after his victory with the message “Supporting Israel IS America first.”

Fine also has a legislative track record of fighting antisemitism, having passed laws in his home state to help law enforcement prosecute white nationalists. He recently prompted a textbook review for antisemitism and anti-Israel bias across Florida’s public university system.