Florida Rep. Fine Challenges Jewish Candidate in Republican Primary with Antisemitic Posts
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Dan Bilzerian is challenging Jewish Rep. Fine in Florida Republican primary. Politicians and elected officials from both parties are denouncing the onslaught of antisemitic postings, including posts directed at Jewish Republican Rep. Randy Fine by Dan Bilzerian, who is challenging Fine in Florida's 6th Congressional District.
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Washington ExaminerBilzerian, who is challenging Fine in Tuesday’s GOP primary, released an artificially generated video attacking the lawmaker’s Jewish identity. The ad, particularly, portrays Fine as “Satanic” and repeatedly references him as a “fat Jew.” The ad led Democratic and Republican House leadership to condemn the antisemitic rhetoric targeting Fine.
VoxWhen he entered the primary in Spring, Bilzerian framed his challenge against Fine entirely around the congressman’s religion. “This fat jew @RepFine…has no place in our govt,” Bilzerian wrote in a March post. “When I unseat him I’m going to draft laws to have anyone putting Israel before America tried for treason.”
New York PostBilzerian’s shocking commercial — which referred to Fine (R-Fla.) as a “fat Jew,” “Shylock,” “Jewish supremacist,” “Satanic whore,” and “Satan’s creepy little minion” — drew a rare bipartisan rebuke from both House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).
Fox NewsBilzerian’s attacks against the Jewish community and Fine continued after he launched his campaign. Just days before the election, Bilzerian posted two photos of himself with supporters on X with the caption: "District 6 understands the jewish problem- Dan Blizerian."
BreitbartRing camera footage appears to show Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) rifling through a stranger’s mailbox while canvassing before Tuesday’s Republican primary.
Washington TimesRep. Randy Fine, Florida Republican, was caught on a homeowner’s doorbell camera opening a stranger’s mailbox and flipping through the contents while canvassing ahead of Tuesday’s Republican primary, according to a TMZ report.
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Fine won by bringing in 56.8% of the vote compared to Bilzerian’s mere 17.9% when the Associated Press called the race at 7:53 p.m.
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New York PostWith two-thirds of the expected vote in, Fine had scored 56.7% of the vote compared to Bilzerian’s 18%.
VoxFine won easily, but Bilzerian appeared poised to finish with about 19 percent of the vote with over 90 percent of ballots counted, making him the top vote-getter out of four Republicans challenging the incumbent.
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In February Fine posted on X, "If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one." He later said his comment was in response to a post by Palestinian activist Nerdeen Kiswani, who had written "Finally NYC is coming to Islam. Dogs definitely have a place in society, just not as indoor pets." She said she had posted during a debate about picking up pet waste in New York City.
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VoxAfter his February comment about dogs — “the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one” — prompted outrage from leading Democrats and civil rights groups, Fine went on the far-right TV station NewsMax to suggest that the United States should force Muslims out of the country. On his social media accounts, he started posting images of dogs superimposed on a Gadsden “don’t tread on me” flag.
New York Post“If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one,” Fine wrote on X in February, while on Sunday he declared: “Jihadi [Zohran] Mamdani does not belong as Mayor of NYC. He needs to be deaturalized and sent back home to Uganda.”
Washington Examiner“If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one,” Fine wrote on social media.
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Bilzerian is among other far-right conservative voices running in Florida who have been critical of Israel, including James Fishback for governor and Jake Lang for Senate.
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VoxIn fact, Bilzerian wasn’t even the most prominent extremist candidate in Florida on Tuesday. That would be James Fishback, the GOP candidate for governor who ran a longshot campaign against Rep. Byron Donalds that was frequently accused of racism and antisemitism and had a visible following among young “groypers.” He appeared set to finish with around 10 percent of the vote with over 90 percent of ballots counted. Both are following the trail blazed by Nick Fuentes, the right-wing livestreamer who has made a name for himself as a leading voice of antisemitism.
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TMZ reported that Mr. Fine is not shown removing, tampering with or inserting anything into the mailbox. Federal law is less clear-cut than that framing suggests. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1702, taking mail from an authorized depository before delivery with intent to obstruct correspondence or “pry into the business or secrets of another,” or opening or secreting such mail, is a federal crime. A separate statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1708, criminalizes stealing or taking mail from a letter box or mail receptacle. Whether either statute would apply here would turn on facts the video alone doesn’t establish, including Mr. Fine’s intent, whether he took or opened anything, and whether the mail had already been delivered.
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BreitbartUnder 18 U.S.C. § 1702, taking mail from an authorized depository before delivery with intent to obstruct correspondence or “pry into the business or secrets of another,” or opening or secreting such mail, is a federal crime. A separate statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1708, criminalizes stealing or taking mail from a letter box or mail receptacle. Whether either statute would apply here would turn on facts the video alone doesn’t establish, including Mr. Fine’s intent, whether he took or opened anything, and whether the mail had already been delivered.
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Fine won a seat in the House last year via a special election to replace U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz. He is one of four Jewish Republicans in Congress. Known as the “Hebrew Hammer” by Florida allies, Fine has been unabashed in his support for Israel amid the Gaza war. He’s also been unafraid to court controversy, such as when he responded in February to a story about a Muslim community advocate calling for a ban on dogs in New York City.
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Fox NewsFine, who was first elected to Congress in a 2025 special election after Mike Waltz resigned, has quickly established himself as one of the House GOP's most outspoken advocates for Israel and efforts to combat antisemitism and protect Jewish communities. Before coming to Congress, Fine — then Florida's only Jewish Republican legislator — earned the nickname the "Hebrew Hammer" from colleagues for that work, a moniker he has since embraced.
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Bilzerian is a social media influencer and businessman who built his online persona around being a playboy, posting videos and photos of himself surrounded by women. He is the founder of IGNITE International Brands, which sells products including disposable vapes, vodka and tequila. Bilzerian flaunts his sexually promiscuous lifestyle and has publicly described "manosphere" social media influencer Andrew Tate as a friend.
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VoxBilzerian, who retains a fortune of uncertain size from his prior career as a professional poker player, is best known for the hard-partying lifestyle portrayed on his Instagram. A manosphere influencer and self-proclaimed sex addict, he has claimed to be dating 50 women at once and to have suffered two heart attacks at age 25 due to a combination of sleep deprivation, Viagra, and cocaine abuse. He currently has 29 million followers on Instagram and 2.1 million on Twitter.
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Fine is widely expected to win his primary on Tuesday and is favored to win his seat in November.
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Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 New York Post The spot also used artificial intelligence to make Fine appear fatter and show him hugging a bag full of cash, while frequently cutting to the Israeli flag.
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02 ABC News Republican Rep. Don Bacon and GOP Sen. Ted Cruz also expressed their revulsion, though Bilzerian remains undeterred and is using such criticism to further fuel his campaign.
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03 Fox News The video caught the attention of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who condemned the video.
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04 Washington Examiner The heat on the campaign trail escalated this week, which prompted Democratic and Republican House leadership to condemn the antisemitic rhetoric from Fine’s primary challenger.
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05 Vox As on the Democratic side, divides over Gaza and October 7 have created a schism inside the GOP. But the right has rejected the very idea of gatekeeping against bigotry as either “woke” or needlessly divisive. For all his anti-Muslim statements, Fine is a Republican in good standing, with Trump’s “complete and total” endorsement to prove it. And he and others with similarly vicious views have turned the right’s debate over the Middle East into an increasingly nasty fight over American Muslims and Jews themselves.
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06 Washington Times The footage drew swift backlash online. Barbie Harden Hall, a former Democratic congressional candidate, wrote on X that Mr. Fine was a “menace to basic human decency.” Jacob Ogles, a journalist who covers Florida’s congressional delegation, wrote on X that a rival campaign had told him going through a mailbox is “a federal crime.” Susan Acevedo, a California political strategist, argued on X that merely handling someone else’s mail could be illegal and urged her followers to contact law enforcement, according to Raw Story.
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