Florida State Sen. Randy Fine is seen as a heavy favorite to succeed Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) in Congress in an upcoming special election, a Florida Republican strategist told Jewish Insider.

Fine was an early entrant into the race and secured President-elect Donald Trump’s endorsement even before he announced his candidacy — a distinction that makes him a near-prohibitive favorite for the seat, GOP operative Ford O’Connell said.

“He has Trump’s endorsement, which is essentially political gold in a Republican primary,” O’Connell said. “It’s very, very likely that Randy Fine is going to win the Republican primary, and if he wins the Republican primary, he’s going to become a congressman.”

He noted that most other Republican candidates or prospective candidates had bowed out of the race in response to Fine’s entrance and Trump’s endorsement. He acknowledged that a few candidates remain in the race, but described them as “nominal folks” who don’t stand a serious chance of contesting the seat.

“The people that declined and withdrew were the people who really could have made this a big battle,” O’Connell said.

Fine’s only competitors in the Republican primary are Aaron Baker and Ehsan Joarder, both of whom are largely unknown and appear to be political novices.

O’Connell said Fine has built his popularity in the district with work on issues such as legislation regulating the discussion of LGBTQ topics in public schools, the special privileges granted to Disneyworld and his vocal support for Israel.

O’Connell said that Fine’s advocacy for Israel may have helped appeal to Trump, given Trump’s own support for the Jewish state, support from Jewish donors and supporters and his efforts to attract Jewish voters.

If elected, Fine would become the fourth Jewish Republican in the next Congress. After announcing his bid for Waltz’s seat, Fine quickly received endorsements from the Republican Jewish Coalition and AIPAC, as well as House Republican leadership and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL).

The primary election is set for Jan. 28 and the general election for April 1. Several independent candidates are set to contest the general election ballot, including former Constitution Party presidential candidate and anti-abortion activist Randall Terry; Chuck Sheridan, a Republican who is running as a write-in candidate and previously ran as a political outsider against Fine for the state Senate; and Libertarian Andrew Parrott, also a largely unknown political novice.