UPDATE: This article has since been amended to include a response from FL-6 House candidates Will Furry and Charles Gambaro.
Congressman Randy Fine, who represents Florida’s 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, said in an interview Wednesday that he’s waiting to see how a potential state redistricting effort pans out before he moves to live in the district. Fine has been criticized by Republicans primarying him in 2026 for residing in Melbourne Beach, not amongst his constituents in FL-6.
“When they started talking about redistricting, I think everyone has to put it on hold,” Fine said of his plans to move to his district. “[The other 2026 candidates] may not live in the congressional district at next year’s election.” Fine also said that while he could move now and then move again if he needed to in order to remain in the district, he didn’t want to have his two kids going through multiple moves in short succession. “The idea of moving my children twice is simply crazy,” he added.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has publicly considered the idea of redrawing Florida’s district boundaries, despite this having been done as recently as 2022 based on data from the 2020 U.S. census. President Donald Trump is supporting new district boundaries in Texas, while California Gov. Gavin Newsom is pushing a retaliatory redistricting to offset the potential benefits for Republicans in the House.
Two public officials in Flagler County have announced they’re running for Fine’s seat: Flagler School Board Chair Will Furry and Palm Coast City Council member Charles Gambaro. Both criticized Fine’s residence outside the district. Furry said in his announcement that Fine “parachuted in”, while Gambaro said residents deserve “a leader that actually lives in the 6th congressional district”.
“Randy Fine has never lived in our district, and now he’s using redistricting as a convenient excuse to avoid investing in a community he doesn’t know and hasn’t served,” Furry said in response to Fine’s latest remarks. “I think he sees District 6 as a stepping stone and it’s not. It’s home to families, small businesses, and real people who deserve a representative rooted in their reality. They’re tired of outsiders and placeholders. What they want, and what they deserve, is someone who puts the priorities of this district first.”
“As a family that is dedicated to serving our community and our nation, Team Gambaro has moved multiple times in one year without hesitation,” Gambaro added. “This kind of dedication is expected of executives and senior leaders who are serious about public service. The latest statement by our current Member of Congress regarding his unwillingness to move into the district that he represents is a shining example of a non-servant leader. He is only interested in serving himself at the expense of the residents of the 6th Congressional District.”
Does Randy Fine Have to Live in His District?
The U.S. Constitution is clear that representatives in Congress are not required to live within their district. Article I, Section 2, Clause 2 stipulated that representatives only have to be 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for seven years, and be a resident of the state in which their district lies upon being elected.
Even so, Fine said he was planning to make his move during the current August congressional recess. He blames Gov. DeSantis for preventing that from happening. “We had a plan, and then Ron DeSantis decided to mess up that plan,” Fine said. He and DeSantis have had an icy political relationship since Fine became the second Florida legislator to endorse Trump over DeSantis in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. DeSantis has previously called Fine a ‘squish’ who ‘repels people’.
