Campaign finance reports for the 6th Congressional District that includes all of Flagler County point to a three-way race, and so far not a close one, between incumbent Randy Fine, Charles Gambaro and Will Furry, all Republicans, with Fine well ahead in fundraising and spending.
Eleven candidates have filed to challenge Fine–five Republicans, two Democrats, an independent a libertarian, a write-in and a candidate from the self-declared “Men Going Their Own Way” party.
Fine, Gambaro and Furry aside, the seriousness of the remaining field is questionable. Only one of the candidates–Democrat Ronnie Murchison-Rivera–has reported campaign finance activity for the period ending Sept. 30. That report reflects just a loan of almost $1,300 from the candidate to himself, and a single $100 contribution.
Fine’s numbers include carry-overs since his April 1 victory in a special election for the seat vacated by Mike Waltz. He raised $223,340 since, and records a $350,000 loan, with spending of $670,744 exceeding the total, though he also reports $393,115 cash on hand. His proclivity for outrageous, at times bigoted, often goadingly obnoxious statements (hinting at nuking Palestinians, not just awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Donald Trump, but renaming it after him, turning a huge swath of Florida into a national park) are not making a dent either in his fund-raising or in his status as the race’s front-runner: he has not yet lost the president’s endorsement, and in a recent visit to Palm Coast, spoke as if he wasn’t about to, saying he wasn’t worried about his challenges. If Fine preserves the endorsement and Trump’s brand doesn’t wane, defeating Fine would be difficult.
Gambaro, currently serving as a Palm Coast City Council member, reported raising $215,000, which he dubbed “a strong start” in a release issued this morning. But the amount includes a $157,000 loan by Gambaro to his campaign account, so the actual amount raised is $58,250. Borrowed money does not necessarily mean that it will be spent money.
He said a majority was raised in the district. His campaign lists 21 contributions (aside from Gambaro’s to himself) from 17 contributors, four of them contributing twice, most of them from Florida, but also including California, Nevada, Indiana, Colorado and the District of Columbia. The only recognizable local name is that of Ed Danko, the former Palm Coast City Council member, who contributed $2,500 early in Gambaro’s campaign. (He was an unpaid volunteer who has since stepped away from the campaign.) Gambaro’s campaign has spent $22,476 so far, mostly on strategic and campaign consulting.
Furry currently chairs the Flagler County School Board. His campaign lists 58 contributions from about 35 or so donors when the double-contributions and self-contributions are accounted for. The contributions are in smaller amounts than those of Gambaro’s donors. Most are local. He’s spent $13,400 so far.
In competitive 2024 congressional races, the median amount raised by incumbents was close to $8 million. Waltz raised $2.8 million and spent $2.3 million to win re-election to the 6th Congressional seat he held before Trump tapped him to be his national security adviser, a position he lost weeks later after inviting a reporter to a group chat where Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, disclosed military secrets. Last month the Senate confirmed Waltz as the United Nations ambassador.
The other candidates in the race are Aaron Baker (R), P.D. Bangdiwala (NPA), Alexandra van Cleef (R), Amr Metwally (Mgtow), Ronnie Murchinson-Rivera (D), Andrew Parrott (Libertarian),
Alec Pavlik (Write-in), Joshua Vasquez (R) and Eric Yonce (D). The Anti-Defamation league defines Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW) as “a distinct faction of the ‘manosphere,’ the broad set of male supremacist, anti-feminist, misogynist and sometimes violent extremist movements that exist largely online. The MGTOW movement began online in the early 2000s when bloggers drafted manifestos outlining their desire for men to separate themselves from women and form a single-gender society.” For extremist statements and positions, however, Fine is not far behind, and he’s the incumbent.
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