Fine defeats Bilzerian in Florida primary marred by antisemitic rhetoric

Rep. Randy Fine, the Jewish Republican incumbent in Florida's 6th Congressional District, won his primary on Tuesday, defeating social media personality Dan Bilzerian in a race that drew national attention for its pervasive antisemitic rhetoric. The Associated Press called the race for Fine at 7:53 p.m. with 69% of votes counted, giving him 56.7% of the vote to Bilzerian's 18%. The Jerusalem Post reported that Fine took nearly 57% of the vote while Bilzerian managed less than 19%.

The race was marked by a series of inflammatory statements from both candidates. Bilzerian, who has spread conspiracy theories about Jews, previously said he wants to "kill Israelis" and called Fine a "fat Jew," according to the Times of Israel and the Jerusalem Post. He also posted on X that "District 6 understands the Jewish problem" and followed up with "the Jew is scared." A campaign music video for Bilzerian referenced Adolf Hitler approvingly with the lyric "Should we revisit that Austrian painter's opinions?"

Fine, who is serving his first term, was endorsed by President Donald Trump, the Republican Jewish Coalition, and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). He has himself drawn criticism for comments about Muslims and Palestinians. He said earlier this year that "If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one," and that "we need more Islamophobia, not less." He also said Palestinians in Gaza should "starve away" until the Israeli hostages were released.

Fine told Fox News Digital that Bilzerian is "an open Nazi who transported himself from Las Vegas to Florida in order to target me" and called the campaign "an organized pogrom against the Jews."

The race also included incidents of vandalism and recrimination. A Fine campaign sign was defaced with a swastika, an act condemned by the Anti-Defamation League. Fine blamed Bilzerian's supporters, while Bilzerian denied involvement and called the accusation "the most jew move of all time."

Bilzerian, who is Armenian, had also drawn anger from Armenian-American groups over Fine's remark that "we don't want Armenians to be able to serve in Congress."

After the race was called, Bilzerian accused Fine of cheating, writing on X: "They clearly cheated, they literally took away my votes."

Other Florida primaries

In the Democratic primary for Florida's 23rd Congressional District, incumbent Lois Frankel won with 75% of the vote to Victoria Doyle's 23.1%, with the AP calling the race at 7:41 p.m. with 92% of votes counted. Frankel, who has been endorsed by pro-Israel PACs that have spent about $861,000 on her behalf, according to Track AIPAC, will likely face a general election in a district reshaped after redistricting under Gov. Ron DeSantis. The race did not center on Israel or AIPAC; Doyle's campaign said it takes no PAC or special interest money and called attempts to label Doyle antisemitic "crude" and "unbelievable."

In the 25th district, incumbent Debbie Wasserman Schultz won with just under half the vote, while challenger Elijah Manley finished with less than 15% after attacking her support for Israel and AIPAC backing.

In the 23rd district, Jared Moskowitz won roughly 63% against DSA-backed Oliver Larkin, who opposed US military aid to Israel.

In the governor's race, Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly, both supporters of Israel, will face off in November. Florida's relationship with Israel has become unusually close under outgoing Gov. Ron DeSantis.

In a Senate primary, Angie Nixon defeated Alex Vindman, who had spent $2.2 million on ads from a $16 million war chest.

Republican Rep. Cory Mills was removed from his party's ticket amid House ethics investigations and allegations of sexual misconduct that he denies.