'Republicans should be scared': GOP strategists sound alarm despite Florida victory
Two prominent GOP campaign veterans weren’t ready to take a victory lap after Republican state Sen. Randy Fine was projected as the winner of the special election to fill the congressional seat vacated by President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz.
“Republicans should be scared,” Trump 2020 campaign communications official Erin Perrine declared Tuesday. “And you want to know why? Because this is a safe district.”
She added a message for her party: “So Republicans now for the midterms, start fundraising, get moving! Because it’s going to cost a lot.”
The stark assessment for Republicans came as Tuesday’s Florida special election results have so far shown a massive shift from the 30-point lead Waltz maintained in the November general election – to the now 10-point advantage the Republican has over Democrat Josh Weil.
While CNN conservative commentator Shermichael Singleton told a CNN panel on Tuesday that “a win is a win,” he added: “I'm personally not happy with just winning by 8 or 9 points.”
ALSO READ: 'Came as a surprise to me': Senators 'troubled' by one aspect of government funding bill
“Now some of my Republican friends aren't going to like me saying this, losing by half of what the president's performance was, I can deal with that,” Singleton said. “But when you get that close, you now enable your opposition to go to their donors to say, ‘Imagine what we can do with this type of financial support in moderate-leaning purple districts…you don't want to cede that ground going into midterms next year,” he warned.
He revealed his “worry” is that if Republicans “don't perform at least close to 15 [percentage points], as close as possible, you give Democrats that opportunity on a silver platter. I’m not comfortable with that.”
Former Biden White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield said the election results also affect Republican members of Congress.
“If I’m a Republican sitting in a district that Kamala Harris won in 2024, I’m nervous,” Bedingfield said. “The impact that this might have on the way some of these moderate Republicans particularly think about their votes, I think is significant. It’s all a psychological game.”
Fine, for his part, credited Trump for his victory.
“Because of you, Mr. President. I won’t let you down,” Fine wrote on X Tuesday evening.