TALLAHASSEE, FL—The next Florida Senate President has endorsed Republican Rep. Randy Fine in his bid for the newly vacant Senate District 19 seat, adding to Fine's star-studded list of supporters.
"Randy Fine has unapologetically fought for the shared conservative values that continue to preserve freedom and opportunity for all Floridians," Senate President-Designate Ben Albritton wrote in a statement Monday morning. "He has stood on the front lines to protect parental rights in education and to keep our families safe in the face of ever-evolving dangers,"
"I'm proud to endorse Randy because he is an important voice at a time when we need it most," added Albritton, who will be taking over Kathleen Passidomo's Senate President post in 2025.
Albritton joins a long list of names supporting Fine—the Legislature's sole Jewish Republican—such as former President Donald Trump, Congressman Bill Posey, Senator Rick Scott, and the state Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson.
"President-Designate Albritton has been a mentor and a friend since he took this assertive entrepreneur under his wing eight years ago," Fine posted on X. "Ben is a man of profound moral character and conviction, and I am deeply humbled by his show of confidence in me."
Fine is running for SD 19—a Brevard-area seat held for eight years by Republican Senator Debbie Mayfield. Mayfield, termed out this year, is vying for a House seat formerly held by Republican Rep. Thad Altman after she was seemingly misled into not running for a congressional seat.
In the primary, which is set for August 20th, Fine will face off against Merritt Island Republican Chuck Sheridan and lawyer Robyn Hattaway. The winner must beat out the sole Democratic contender for the seat, Melbourne resident and transgender woman Vance Ahrens.
Ahrens is one of two transgender candidates running for the Florida Legislature. The other, Democrat Ashley Brundage, is running for a Republican-held House seat in the Tampa Bay area. If either wins, they would be the first transgender lawmakers in state history.
District 19, however, is heavily Republican, with Governor DeSantis sweeping 63% of the area's vote in 2022—making Ahrens' odds seem unlikely while Trump-endorsed Fine's appear better than ever.
