Florida Republican on Democrats' strategy: 'That's the choice they have to make...persecution or policy'
Florida Rep. Randy Fine advises House Republicans to hand the minority gavel to Rep. Jim Jordan and focus on fighting back against expected Democratic political persecution.
Florida's Rep. Randy Fine has a blunt prescription for House Republicans facing a steep Democratic majority in January: stop worrying about compromise, hand the minority gavel to Rep. Jim Jordan, and start fighting. Fine suggests Democrats will likely pursue political persecution as their main focus in the next Congress.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Fine—who expanded his victory margin to 19 points even as Republicans lost control of the chamber—argued that voters punished the GOP not for its policies, but because they didn't see lawmakers willing to fight for them.
Jordan's qualifications
For Fine, the message sent by Jordan's election is unambiguous. He believes Jordan has two unique qualifications for the minority leader position.
Well, it says to me that we're ready to fight back. I mean, Jim Jordan has two unique qualifications for the job. One, he's our best fighter. He protected and fought for President Trump during the ridiculous impeachments of President Trump's first term. He's just somebody who knows how to go into the arena and fight back. But the second thing is, he's an extraordinary communicator.
Policy vs. fighting
Fine downplays policy as the primary driver of the 2026 election losses, suggesting Republicans need to focus more on fighting than changing their message or positions.
"I don't know that we need to change our policies. And I don't even know how much of our messaging we need to change. What we need to do is we need to fight," Fine stated, emphasizing that voters will support lawmakers they see fighting for them, even if those efforts fail.
Different leadership roles
Fine drew a sharp line between the roles of outgoing Speaker Mike Johnson and incoming Minority Leader Jim Jordan, noting their responsibilities will be fundamentally different with Republicans in the minority.
Fine explained that Johnson's remaining time as speaker will focus on passing legislation, while Jordan's job will be to fight against Democratic investigations and communicate why Democratic policies won't improve Americans' lives.
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