Josh Weil, the Democratic challenger to Florida state Sen. Randy Fine in Tuesday’s special election in Florida’s 6th Congressional District, said in 2021 that the U.S. should withdraw its support for Israel.

Weil, who was initially seen as having little chance of victory in a district President Donald Trump carried by 30 points, raised close to $10 million and has mounted an aggressive campaign against Fine, prompting consternation among top Republicans. Republican internal polling reportedly shows Fine trailing, though Republicans in the state say publicly that they’re confident he’ll win.

Weil, a teacher, previously ran a long-shot campaign for U.S. Senate in Florida in 2022. During that campaign, in 2021, Weil said that he sought an end to U.S. military aid to Israel while criticizing efforts at the time to evict Palestinians in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of east Jerusalem.

Weil said he condemned “Israel’s state-sanctioned violence against Palestinians” and urged the U.S. government to work to stop the evictions.

In a recent podcast interview, Weil nodded in agreement as a co-host described Fine, who is Jewish and outspoken in support of Israel, as “unabashedly psycho pro-Israel” and said that a Weil victory would be “a direct shot across the bow against Zionism.”

Weil’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Fine has accused Weil of antisemitism and of having a “deep-seated hate of Israel and Jews.” He has branded Weil, who is Muslim, as “Jihad Josh,” accusing him of supporting Islamic terrorism. Fine has a history of comments that critics have characterized as Islamophobic.

Fine has gone after his opponent for a range of other issues, including allegedly hiring a convicted violent felon to work on his campaign and for a physical encounter with a student that allegedly left the student injured. Fine has linked the latter incident to Weil’s conversion to Islam in 2011 after he married a Muslim woman, claiming Weil “was radicalized into violence and criminality.”

Fine has suggested that Weil converted to Islam in response to the 9/11 attacks, even though the conversion came a decade later.

Fine has further criticized Weil’s use of the ActBlue Democratic fundraising platform, which Fine said is “under investigation for laundering Islamic terror money.” A House member urged the administration in recent weeks to investigate ActBlue because it has been used to raise money for Palestinian groups allegedly affiliated with terrorism.

Weil has also faced accusations of stalking and of driving without a proper license, which Fine has seized on.

Weil has been criticized inside his own party for running advertisements featuring Democratic Party leaders without their consent.

Weil said during his 2022 Senate campaign that “ONLY a Socialist can win Florida” and has made homophobic comments about Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).