Born in Arizona and raised in Kentucky,Fine graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor's degree in government and a master of business administration. After working for McKinsey &Company and later as a teaching fellow at Harvard,Fine became a corporate executive working in the casino gambling industry. In 2016,Fine was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in his first of four consecutive elections,and he served during the last two years of GovernorRick Scott's tenure and the first six years of the DeSantis administration. In 2024,Fine was elected to the Florida Senate from the 19th district,representing most of Brevard County.
Fine was raised in Lexington,Kentucky,and graduated from Henry Clay High School in 1992,where he was co-valedictorian.[7][8][9] He spent his 11th grade year of high school in 1990–91 as a page of the United States House of Representatives;upon being chosen,he said "I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be next year than Washington on the floor of the House of Representatives."[10] During the summers of 1991 and 1992,he was an assistant for U.S. representative Robert Dornan (R-CA).[11][7]
In 2005,at 31 years of age he founded,and for nearly ten years thereafter operated,a Nevada-based casino industry,cruise line,tech,and health care consulting and management business,called the Fine Point Group,with locations in Florida,Memphis,and Las Vegas.[22][23][24][19][21] It advised casino operators in Las Vegas,San Diego,Mississippi,New Mexico,Oregon,Pennsylvania,and Washington.[25][19][26][13][20] In 2009,he was the chief executive officer of the Greektown Casino in Detroit,Michigan;the casino's revenue increased 9% as the market shrunk 5%.[27][20] In 2015,Fine explored a U.S. Senate bid;he opted instead to run for the Florida state legislature.[22][28]
Florida legislature
Florida House of Representatives (2016–24)
Elections
Fine won four consecutive elections in the Florida House of Representatives,in the 53rd and 33rd districts. In 2016,Fine with 57% of the vote defeated Democrat David Kearns for the 53rd district seat being vacated by John Tobia due to term limits.[29][30] In 2018 and 2020 Fine was the incumbent,and defeated Democrat Phil Moore with 55% of the vote in both elections.[31][32] Following redistricting,Fine ran in the 33rd district in 2022,defeating Democrat Anthony Yantz with 57% of the vote.[33]
Tenure
Fine in 2015
In the state house,Fine advocated for protecting the environment of the Indian River Lagoon from sewage spills,and for opposing what he saw as wasteful,lower-priority spending.[34] Fine introduced a bill in the House to provide up to $50 million per year in matching funds to upgrade sewage treatment facilities in the area of the marsh. The legislation also increased the fines for illegal sewage discharges.[35] At the same time as his crusade against sewage spills,in 2019 he voted for HB 829 which made it illegal for local communities to ban the spreading of biosolids (solid organic matter recovered from a sewage treatment process and used as fertilizer) on farmlands that drain into the St. John's River and the Indian River Lagoon.[36][37] River advocates said the practice of spreading dried human feces as fertilizer on farms around the St. John's River had been linked to toxic algae blooms affecting Melbourne's drinking water supply;Melbourne utility officials insist that they remove algae toxins during their water treatment process,and say that the drinking water is safe.[38][39][40]
The editorial board of local newspaper Florida Today has criticized Fine's personal style. Their joint editorial observed that "Fine is obviously a hard working lawmaker who has used his watchdog skills to do good" but said that "Fine should defend what he believes in,but not by launching tirades against others as crusades on behalf of his constituents. He can look good without trying to make others look bad with personal attacks."[41] There are multiple cases of Fine using "threats to pull or withhold state funding... to strike back at political rivals and retaliate over perceived slights."[42] These include the Brevard Zoo (2023),a Palm Bay Magnet High School firefighter academy (2022),and the West Melbourne Special Olympics (2021;Fine denied he threatened to get the funding pulled).[43] In April 2023,the Florida Commission on Ethics found probable cause he violated ethics rules by threatening to withhold state funding over a personal dispute and interfering in a council member's request for public records.[44] In October 2024,county judge Blaue held Fine in contempt of court for making an obscene gesture and making the "loser" hand sign during a virtual hearing over an election paperwork dispute.[45][46] Fine was ordered to take an 8-hour anger management course.[46]
Reedy Creek Improvement District
In 2022,Fine sponsored a bill to dissolve all six independent special districts in Florida established prior to November 5,1968 (the date of the ratification of the Constitution of Florida),including the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) which at the time was the governing jurisdiction and special taxing district for the land of Walt Disney World Resort.[47] The bill passed both the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida State Senate,and was signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis on April 22,2022.[48] A number of commentators said that the potential dissolution was in retaliation for the Walt Disney Company announcing its opposition to the Parental Rights in Education Act (dubbed the "Don't Say Gay Bill" by its critics),that passed several weeks prior and which prohibits classroom instruction on "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" with children in third grade or younger.[49] In an interview,Fine said that research into the RCID and other special districts started "When Disney kicked the hornet's nest several weeks ago."[50] When the potential impact on taxes in the surrounding counties of Orange and Osceola was being discussed,Fine said that the taxpayers would save money,and the tax revenue would instead go to local governments. [51]
On November 5,2024,Fine was elected to the Florida Senate from the 19th district,which includes Cape Canaveral and the majority of Brevard County,as he defeated Democrat Vance Ahrens 59% to 41%.[52] He was officially sworn into office on November 19,2024.[53] He earned a salary of $29,697 as a state senator.[54]
Fine won the Republican primary with 83% of the vote. He defeated Aaron Baker and Ehsan Joarder.[67]
Fine repeatedly labeled his progressive Democratic opponent, Josh Weil, as "Jihad Josh." He called for Weil's arrest after a convicted felon paid staffer on Weil's campaign was arrested on burglary and theft charges as she was handing out fliers for Weil's campaign.[68][69] He also raised a 2015 case in which Weil, who is a teacher, was suspended for misconduct after a student accused Weil of slamming him to the ground.[68]
In the April 1 general election, Fine defeated Weil by 14 percentage points, 57%–43%.[70][71] Weil had outraised Fine by $10 million to under $1 million.[72]
Tenure
On April 2, 2025, Fine was sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives by Speaker Mike Johnson.[73]
Political views
COVID-19 response
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Fine asked local leaders in Brevard County to take the pandemic more seriously.[74] Fine thought it was "a little bit crazy" that Brevard beaches were open to anybody.[74] In 2021, Fine urged people to get vaccinated.[75] He opposed making the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory, but he encouraged those who were not vaccinated to follow the CDC's recommendation and wear a mask in group settings.[76] Fine recommended that parents who wanted mask mandates at school use the state's school voucher system and send their child to a private school with a mask requirement.[77]
Crime
Fine co-sponsored a Florida bill imposing harsher penalties for offenses committed by people who are in the U.S. illegally than for everyone else, including a mandatory death sentence for first-degree murder and child rape committed by anyone who is in the U.S. illegally. [78] In January 2021, he co-sponsored Bill No. HB 1, to increase criminal penalties for assaulting law enforcement officers.[79] He has been endorsed by the International Union of Police Associations, whose president said “While many like to wrap themselves in the fabric of law and order, you have co-sponsored numerous bills that both improved the lives and working conditions of law enforcement officers, but also gave them the tools to protect their communities.”[80]
Fine opined in 2022 that neither DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) nor critical race theory have any place in Florida’s public schools.[81] He is also in favor of giving all Florida families the ability choose private or home schooling, with the help of taxpayer money, by expanding school vouchers.[82]
Environment
In 2020, Fine filed legislation raising all existing fines by 50% for illegally discharging raw sewage into waterways.[83]
Gun rights
Fine proposed a bill which would legalize concealed carry on college and university campuses. Fine said that, "Adults should have the right to protect themselves on campus, particularly after so many universities across America chose to protect Muslim terror advocates over their own students".[84] In 2024, the National Rifle Association (NRA) endorsed Fine.[85]
Immigration
In 2024, Fine filed a bill pursuant to which undocumented immigrants would no longer be charged in-state tuition rates (under $6,000 per year, rather than out-of-state tuition of $30,000) at Florida colleges and universities.[86] His office said that in 2021, $45 million in state monies went to provide the in-state rate to undocumented immigrants.[86]
Israel and Palestine
Fine speaking during the Florida Stands With Israel conference, 2023
In 2018, Fine demanded that venues in Miami and Tampa cancel scheduled concerts with the New Zealand singer Lorde because she had previously cancelled a concert in Israel after being urged to do so by activists from the BDS movement. According to Fine, letting Lorde play would violate an anti-BDS law that the state enacted in 2016.[87]
In April 2019, Fine called Paul Halpern, a progressive Jewish constituent of his, a "Judenrat" for supporting an event that discussed the Israeli-Palestinian situation.[14]
In May 2021, amid an ongoing crisis in Israel and Palestine, Fine made several posts and comments on his social media pages regarding Palestinians, including a celebration of the Israeli army's bombing of the Gaza Strip.[88] Regarding the deaths of Palestinian children during the conflict, he said, "I don’t personally feel bad when human shields are killed".[89]
On October 10, 2023, Fine arranged for "Regards from Randy Fine" to be written on an artillery shell to be fired on Gaza, and later arranged for messages on two more shells.[89]
In November 2023, Fine voted against a Florida House of Representatives unsucessful resolution calling for a ceasefire in the ongoing Gaza war introduced by Angie Nixon, which only received two supporting votes, asserting that anyone who voted for the resolution was anti-Semitic and "putting every Jewish child in the state at risk."[89][92]
Fine called Ireland an "antisemitic country" after it recognized the State of Palestine in May 2024. He pledged to introduce a bill to ban Florida government entities from contracting with Irish, Norwegian, and Spanish companies, after the latter two countries also recognized Palestine.[93] When Governor DeSantis visited Ireland in August 2024 to attend the Florida State–Georgia Tech football game, Fine criticized the governor, saying, "I was certainly disappointed to see not only folks go to what is clearly an antisemitic country that supports Muslim terror, but I was also disappointed that the game wasn’t cancelled, which it should have been."[94]
In December 2024, Fine introduced a bill in the Florida Senate which would ban "flags with a political viewpoint" from being flown in Florida government buildings. He targeted the flag of Palestine, LGBTQ pride flags, and Black Lives Matter flags, though the bill itself does not specify those flags.[97] In a press release, he called Palestine a "fictional country," referred to the Black Lives Matter movement as "pro-violence," and repeatedly promoted the LGBTQ grooming conspiracy theory, writing, "Supporters of Muslim terror, child mutilators, and groomers have no right to taxpayer sponsorship of their repugnant messages."[98][99]
After the remains of the kidnapped Bibas family mother and children were returned to Israel in February 2025, Fine claimed in a series of tweets that there was no such thing as innocent Palestinian civilians, called them "demons that live on Earth" who "deserve death," and said that "Gaza must be destroyed."[100][101] The Council on American–Islamic Relations repeated its call for Fine to be censured in response.[102]
Opposition to the LGBT community
Fine has repeatedly made unsubstantiated allegations that gay and lesbian people are "grooming" minors[103][104][105] and while defending a bill banning anyone under the age of 18 from being able to attend a drag show, said: “If it means erasing a community because you have to target children, then, damn right, we ought to do it!”[106][107] He supported the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay Bill" by its critics, that prohibits public schools from having classroom discussion or instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through 3rd grade, or in a manner deemed to be against state standards in all grades; it passed, and was signed by the governor.[105]
In April 2021, Fine was one of 77 Republicans in the House to vote yes on bill CS/HB 1475 which bars transgender girls and women from playing on girls' sports teams at public schools; it passed, and was signed by the governor.[108][109]
Fine proposed a 2023 bill to ban drag performances where children might be in attendance. Opponents of the bill said it would ban his own wife's "sultry performances" at the Spring Forward for Autism gala, which benefits a children's charity.[110][111][112]NBC News reported that video of previous years' galas, where his wife performed, confirmed that toddlers were in attendance, and Business Insider reported that in previous years children performed alongside adults at the galas.[111][113] In 2023, the gala included a performances by Rainbow Circus Miami, and Randy Fine was one of the gala's prominent sponsors.[114][113]
Opposition to Muslims
Al Jazeera said that Fine has a long history of making anti-Muslim statements.[115]
After the 2025 New Orleans truck attack, which was committed by an American-born convert to Islam whose truck was flying the flag of the radical Islamist terror group ISIS as he killed 15 people, Fine called for non-citizen supporters of "Muslim terror" to be deported.[116] He wrote on Twitter that "Muslim terror has attacked the United States — again. The blood is on the hands of those who refuse to acknowledge the worldwide #MuslimProblem."[117][118] Trump ally Richard Grenell criticized Fine's post and said it was not helping.[119]
At a public hearing Fine chaired in March 2025, he was booed by attendees after he said "enjoy your terrorist rag" to a member of the public wearing a keffiyeh.[120][121] Fine responded by saying "I'm the chairman, I can say what I want".[120][121]
Personal life
Fine married his first wife, Anne Price, in 1996.[4] They met while working for Students for an Energy Efficient Environment Inc.[122]
Fine and his second wife, Wendy, have two boys.[12] In 2007, he and his wife purchased a two-bedroom 4,000 square foot home in Melbourne Beach, to which they added 4,500 square feet at a cost, with improvements to the original space, of $1,000,000.[123]
1 2 3 "Managing Director: Randall A. Fine". The Fine Point Group. Archived from the original on January 20, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2019. He holds both his undergraduate degree magna cum laude, and his MBA degree, with high honors, from Harvard University.
↑ Vasquez, Tyler (April 26, 2023). "Ethics commission finds probable cause against Randy Fine in dispute with West Melbourne". Florida Today. Retrieved November 26, 2024. According to the Florida Commission on Ethics findings released Wednesday, members "found probable cause to believe that [Fine] abused his position to obtain a disproportionate benefit and that he misused his position by threatening to take away State funding over a personal feud with a Brevard County School Board member, and that he interfered in a council member's response to a public records request for communications related to thedispute.
↑ "Videos". FOX 35 Orlando. April 2, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
1 2 Parker, Alyssa (April 8, 2020). "State Rep. Randy Fine unloads on Facebook, blasts local leaders for not taking COVID-19 seriously". Capitolist. Retrieved November 26, 2024. "For whatever reason, some folks just aren't taking this whole thing seriously," Fine said early in his opening remarks. "Unfortunately, Brevard County is the only county on the east coast where our beaches are open to anybody…it's a little bit crazy."
↑ Vasquez, Tyler (August 4, 2021). "Florida's classroom mask mandate ban doesn't impact private schools, leading to voucher push". Florida Today. Retrieved November 26, 2024. State Rep. Randy Fine, a Palm Bay Republican, suggested Monday to parents dissatisfied with the lack of mask mandates at public schools that they utilize the state's voucher system to send their children to a private school with a mask requirement.
↑ "Trump backs staunchly anti-Muslim Florida lawmaker to run for US Congress". Al Jazeera. November 24, 2024. Retrieved January 31, 2025. Fine, who has a long history of anti-Muslim statements, sparked outrage earlier this year when he appeared to praise the killing of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a US activist who was fatally shot by the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank. "Throw rocks, get shot. One less #MuslimTerror ist. #FireAway," Fine wrote in a social media post in September.
↑ Taheri, Mandy (January 2, 2025). "Trump Ally Rebukes Republican's Anti-Muslim Post After New Orleans Attack". Newsweek. Retrieved January 31, 2025. Fine posted on X, 'Muslim terror has attacked the United States — again. The blood is on the hands of those who refuse to acknowledge the worldwide #MuslimProblem. It is high time to deal with this fundamentally broken and dangerous culture.'
↑ Taheri, Mandy (January 2, 2025). "Trump Ally Rebukes Republican's Anti-Muslim Post After New Orleans Attack". Newsweek. Retrieved January 31, 2025. Grenell pushed back on Fine's comments, writing: 'They are Radicals. The Radicals must be defeated. Muslims call them Radicals, too. You aren't helping. There's this thing called the First Amendment which guarantees religious freedoms.'
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