Fine wins State Senate District 19 GOP primary in blowout victory
State Rep. Randy Fine is the winner of the Republican primary race for State Senate District 19 with more than 73% of the vote.
Fine led opponent Charles "Chuck" Sheridan by more than 47 percentage points, with all precincts reporting. Sheridan, a retired Brevard County contractor and hotel developer, was racing against Fine for the GOP nod to fill the seat currently held by Republican State Sen. Debbie Mayfield.
Mayfield was unable to run again due to term limits; instead she is running for Florida House District 32.
In a statement posted to his Facebook page, Fine said: "I first want to thank you for making me the Republican nominee for Florida Senate District 19. We have gotten to know each other over the past eight years, and I am grateful for your overwhelming validation of how I have served you – directly, unapologetically, and focused on doing one thing – fighting to protect children, our families, and our nation."
"I’ve never been interested in being a traditional politician, and I don’t plan to start," Fine said in the statement. "Now, with the primary behind us, we will fight for our values this November as we not only run my race, but more importantly, ensure President Trump’s second term."
Sheridan said after the race was called Tuesday that he planned to contest Fine's qualification for the ballot in court, and questioned the legality of spending on the race on Fine's behalf by outside groups.
"He literally stole the election. He ran a corrupt campaign, by people who have been prosecuted for campaign fraud in 2020," Sheridan said, referencing Florida political consultant and GOP hatchet man Anthony Pedicini.
Fine has been connected to Pedicini-run political action committees in the past, and campaign finance records showed he paid Pedicini's Tampa-based firm SIMWins about $50,000 last August for consulting services.
While Pedicini has been the subject of several lawsuits, FLORIDA TODAY could find no evidence he had ever been charged criminally.
"Chuck Sheridan got humiliated tonight and should take it like a man and stop acting like a whiny toddler," Fine later said in response. "He should take his hand-drawn campaign signs that make him look like he is running for student council and go back under the bridge he came from. Anthony Pedicini is a Brevard County boy made good, as honorable a guy as you will meet, and I am proud to call him my friend."
Next up in the State Senate District 19 race
Fine will face Brevard Democrat Vance Ehrens in the November general election.
Senate District 19 covers most of central and south Brevard from Port St. John and Cape Canaveral to Micco. The office has a four-year term and carries an annual salary of $29,697.
Results
Here are results with 146 of 146 precincts reporting:
Fine: 39,158 (73.59%)
Sheridan: 14,054 (26.41%)
See more local election results here: Brevard County election results 2024.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Election results 2024: Fine wins big in FL Senate District 19 primary
