Floridians in two deep-red districts hit the polls on April 1 to select replacements for two congressmen who traded their reelection for nominations to President Donald Trump’s Cabinet.
Those now-former Republican congressmen, Matt Gaetz and Michael Waltz, vacated their seats to pursue the roles of attorney general and national security adviser, respectively.
That meant that they left the GOP holding a 218–215 lead in their lower chamber. However, that was before Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Sylvester Turner (D-Texas) passed away earlier this year.
Gaetz and Waltz both won reelection by more than 30 points, and Trump was quick to endorse replacements: Florida Chief Financial Officer and Fire Marshall Jimmy Patronis in Gaetz’s district and state Sen. Randy Fine for Waltz’s district....
