GOP retains Matt Gaetz seat in win for Mike Johnson
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Jimmy Patronis, Florida's finance chief since 2017. Photo: Octavio Jones/Getty Images
Florida's departing chief financial officer fended off a Democratic rival Tuesday to win the U.S. House seat previously held by GOP firebrand Matt Gaetz, according to AP.
Why it matters: Jimmy Patronis' victory helps shore up the GOP's narrow House minority, even if his defeat of a lesser-known opponent in a safe Republican district was widely expected.
- Had Democrat Gay Valimont triumphed in Florida's 1st Congressional District, a beet-red stretch of the Florida Panhandle, it would have set off GOP alarms from Pensacola to Washington, D.C.
Catch up quick: The seat was held by Gaetz from 2017 until mid-November when he resigned after then-President-elect Trump nominated him for U.S. attorney general.
- Gaetz's nomination drew bipartisan backlash, which grew as the House Ethics Committee weighed releasing its report into allegations of sex trafficking and other misconduct.
- He withdrew from consideration about a week after being nominated, saying that the controversy "was unfairly becoming a distraction" for the incoming administration.
Zoom in: Patronis has been Florida's finance chief since 2017. When he announced his bid for Congress — with Trump's endorsement — he also resigned his state post, effective Monday.
- Valimont, a longtime gun violence prevention activist with Moms Demand Action, lost to Gaetz in a landslide last year, though her campaign outraised Patronis' about $6.5 million to $2.1 million.
Patronis is an ally of Sen. Rick Scott and a staunch Trump supporter. He was among the first Florida politicians to urge the creation of a state fund to cover Trump's post-first-term legal bills.
- A state lawmaker submitted legislation to create such a fund, but it died after Gov. Ron DeSantis threatened to veto it.
Between the lines: Prior to Election Day, Democrats had returned slightly more mail ballots than Republicans in CD1 but were almost doubled up in early in-person voting, 31,875 to 16,430, per Florida Politics.
What's next: DeSantis has yet to announce Patronis' successor as Florida's chief financial officer. He told reporters he plans to name an acting CFO soon and a permanent replacement by mid-May.
- Meanwhile, Gaetz is being speculated as a contender for Florida attorney general in next year's elections.
