MAGA candidate wins GOP primary in Florida race to replace Matt Gaetz in Congress

The candidate endorsed by President Trump on Tuesday won the Republican primary in a special congressional election to replace former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz in Florida’s 1st Congressional District.

The Associated Press projects that Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis will win the GOP nomination in the district, which is located in the northwest corner of the state in the Panhandle region.

He will face gun safety advocate Gay Valimont, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Patronis, who was also endorsed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, topped nine other Republican candidates in the crowded primary field. He will be considered the clear favorite in the April 1 general election to fill the congressional seat in the heavily red district.

“A fourth generation Floridian from the beautiful Panhandle, and owner of an iconic seafood restaurant, Jimmy has been a wonderful friend to me, and to MAGA,” Trump wrote in a social media post earlier this month.

IT’S PRIMARY DAY IN PARTS OF THIS CRUCIAL STATE 

Left: Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis; Right: President-elect Donald Trump rings the opening bell on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Dec. 12, 2024 in New York City.  (Left: Fox News Digital; Right: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Gaetz resigned from Congress abruptly late last year after Trump tapped him to be his attorney general, though Gaetz eventually withdrew himself from consideration amid growing Republican opposition.

The congressman’s resignation also came as the House Ethics Committee had been preparing its report on allegations against Gaetz that included illicit drug use and sex with a minor, all of which he has denied.

Among those who fell short to Patronis in the GOP primary was a former Navy veteran who challenged Gaetz last year with the backing of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Gaetz had triggered the congressional maneuver in 2023 that eventually led to McCarthy’s ouster from power after less than a year as House speaker.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wis., on July 17, 2024. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

Patronis – whose family runs a popular restaurant in Panama City – which is outside the district -was criticized for not living in the district.

He twice won statewide elections as chief financial officer and, until Gaetz quit Congress, was seen as a potential candidate in Florida’s 2026 race to succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis delivers remarks at a campaign event in Sarasota, Florida, on Nov. 6, 2022. (Tiffany Tompkins/Bradenton Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Republican and Democratic primaries were also being held Tuesday in Florida’s 6th Congressional District, in the special election to fill the seat left vacant after GOP Rep. Michael Waltz stepped down to serve as national security adviser in the second Trump administration. The general election in the red district is also scheduled for April 1.

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With a fragile, razor-thin majority in the House, the likely reinforcements from Florida’s 1st and 6th Congressional Distircts will be welcome news to Republican leadership in the chamber as it tries to pass Trump’s agenda.