RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 3 sourcesJTA — Jewish far-right firebrand Rep. Randy Fine secured a landslide victory in his Florida GOP primary on Tuesday, ending a race marked by antisemitic tropes, allusions to Adolf Hitler and sharp criticism of Islam.
The Associated Press called the race just under an hour after polls closed, at 7:53 p.m., when Fine secured 56.7 percent of the votes, with 69% of votes counted.
His main opponent, mega-influencer Dan Bilzerian, had accrued 18% of the votes by that time, though he quickly took to social media to accuse Fine of cheating, saying on X: "They clearly cheated, they literally took away my votes."
Fine, who is currently serving his first term in Congress, was endorsed by US President Donald Trump, the Republican Jewish Coalition and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
However, he is not without controversy himself and has sparked anger in Congress on both sides of the aisle for comments disparaging Muslims. Earlier this year, in response to a Muslim activist who, in line with her religion, called to end the use of dogs as indoor pets, he said: "If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one." He also said that "we need more Islamophobia, not less."
He also said during the war in Gaza that Palestinians in the enclave should “starve away” until the Israeli hostages were released.
Bilzerian, an influencer who has spread conspiracy theories about Jews, has previously said that he wants to “kill Israelis” and described his opponent as a “fat Jew.”
District 6 understands the jewish problem pic.twitter.com/wT5C82ApX5
— Dan Bilzerian (@DanBilzerian) August 15, 2026
After Bilzerian declared his candidacy this past spring, the founder of TMZ asked the influencer if his usage of the phrase was antisemitic. In response, Bilzerian questioned whether remarks made by Fine earlier this year “about how Muslims are lower than dogs,” which drew bipartisan criticism, were Islamophobic. “District 6 understands the Jewish problem,” Bilzerian posted on X on Saturday, following up the next day with a message that “the Jew is scared.”
A recent Bilzerian campaign music video referenced Adolf Hitler in a positive light, featuring the lyrics, “Should we revisit that Austrian painter’s opinions?”
Fine, meanwhile, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that Bilzerian is “an open Nazi who transported himself from Las Vegas to Florida in order to target me.”
“This isn’t an organic campaign,” he added. “It’s an organized pogrom against the Jews.”
The primary had been marked by inflammatory rhetoric and personal attacks. Fine responded to Bilzerian’s entry into the race by declaring that “we don’t want Armenians to be able to serve in Congress” (Bilzerian is Armenian), prompting anger from Armenian-American groups.
Last week a Fine campaign sign was defaced with a swastika, an act condemned by the Anti-Defamation League and other Jewish groups.
In a release, Fine accused Bilzerian’s supporters of having painted the swastika, a charge Bilzerian has denied and labeled “the most jew move of all time.”
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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