TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis has scheduled special elections to replace outgoing state Sen. Randy Fine and former state Rep. Joel Rudman, who are running for congressional seats.
DeSantis on Tuesday issued executive orders setting special primary elections on April 1 and special general elections, if necessary, on June 10 in Senate District 19 and House District 3, according to documents posted on the state Division of Elections website.
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Fine, R-Brevard County, is resigning effective March 31 from the Senate as he runs in a special election to replace former U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz, who was named national security adviser by President Donald Trump. The Senate district is part of Brevard County.
Waltz’s district includes parts of Lake, Marion, Volusia and Flagler counties, but not Brevard County.
Rudman, R-Navarre, resigned Jan. 1 from the state House seat as he runs in a special election to replace former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who stepped down from Congress in November. House District 3 is made up of parts of Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties.
The House district will not have a representative for at least part of this year’s legislative session, which will start March 4 and is scheduled to end May 2. If a special general election is needed to replace Fine, the Senate district will not have a representative for the second half of the session.
State Rep. Debbie Mayfield, R-Melbourne, has said she plans to run to replace Fine. Mayfield served in the Senate for eight years before getting elected to the House in November. She had to leave the Senate because of term limits.
Meanwhile, six candidates have opened campaign accounts to run in House District 3. While those accounts are listed by the state as being open for the 2026 elections, they can be switched to the special election. Those candidates are Republicans Nathan Boyles, Hayden Burkhard Hudson, Joshua Shane Sik, Cynthia Darlene Smith and Jamie Lee Wells and Democrat Dondre Markell Maurice Wise.
While DeSantis quickly called special elections to fill the congressional seats vacated by Waltz and Gaetz, he moved slowly on calling the special elections for the legislative seats.
That prompted the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Florida on Jan. 9 to file a lawsuit asking a judge to order DeSantis to set the special legislative elections. The lawsuit has remained pending.
Special primary elections will be held Tuesday in the congressional districts, with special general elections on April 1.
Fine served eight years in the state House before getting elected to the Senate in November. He then shifted to running in Congressional District 6 after Trump selected Waltz for national security adviser.
Similarly, Rudman was re-elected to his House seat in November but then jumped into the Congressional District 1 race when Gaetz resigned. Trump initially picked Gaetz to serve as U.S. attorney general, but Gaetz withdrew from consideration for that post.
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