Gay florida special election
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Valimont is seeking Florida’s 1st Congressional District seat that Matt Gaetz held in the Panhandle until he resigned in November after President Donald Trump nominated Gaetz for U.S. Attorney General. Other Democrats, including gun control advocate and Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg, have also criticized McMillian's tactics.
As early voting winds down, the April 1 election could offer an early glimpse into the durability of Trump’s political brand—and whether Democrats can compete in even the reddest corners of Florida.
A party leader is criticizing two Florida Democrats with long-shot campaigns for U.S.
Congressional seats for unauthorized use of material in their advertisements.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, known as AOC in political pop culture, is the U.S. Representative for New York’s 14th Congressional District, taking Gay Valimont and Josh Weil to task. The race is largely between Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis and Gay Valimont, a Florida mom, gun rights advocate, and chapter lead of Moms Demand Action for Gunsense in America.
Gaetz resigned from Congress as he was in the running to serve as Attorney General under President Donald Trump.
He first served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2006 to 2014 before being appointed to the state’s Public Service Commission. EDT).
Looking for Florida Congressional District 6 results? Trump carried the district by more than 35 points in 2024. In 2017, then-Gov. As recently as Friday, his Republican competitor Randy Fine called for his arrestbecause one of his campaign workers was distributing campaign flyers on a stolen bicycle.
... As WFSU’s Tristan Wood reported, Valimont and fellow Democrat Joshua Weil have raised more than $15 million combined—more than five times as much as their Republican opponents. Rick Scott tapped him to serve as Florida’s chief financial officer, a position he still holds. and close at 7 p.m. Jimmy Patronis
Who will fill former Rep.
Matt Gaetz's Congressional seat? Valimont, meanwhile, won just 34% of the vote in her last bid for the seat when she challenged Gaetz during the regular election cycle that same year.
Still, her focus on veterans’ issues and strong grassroots fundraising have introduced a level of Democratic engagement that has drawn attention to the race.
RELATED: Here are details on the District 3 Florida House primary
With the Department of Government Efficiency's budget cuts to services at the Department of Veterans Affairs emerging as a key issue and Patronis running as a staunch Trump ally, the election could serve as an early test of voter sentiment ahead of the 2026 mid-term elections.
A Seat Up for Grabs
Gaetz initially announced his resignation from Congress after being nominated for U.S.
attorney general in Trump’s new administration. The two Florida Democrats were using Ocasio-Cortez’s Instagram address to raise funds for their campaigns in the Sunshine State.
“Fyi, this is being run as an ad without my consent. local time. The race, which has drawn national attention, pits Democrat Gay Valimont, a gun reform activist and veterans’ advocate, against Republican Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s outgoing chief financial officer and a longtime ally of President Donald Trump.
With Florida’s 1st District being one of the most Republican-leaning in the country, Patronis enters the race as the presumptive favorite.
Valimont secured the Democratic nomination without a contest, positioning herself as a political outsider focused on local issues.
Jimmy Patronis: The Republican Establishment Candidate
Patronis, a Panama City native, has spent much of his career in Florida state government. Gay Valimont, District 1
Florida voters will head to the polls on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, to fill two congressional seats: District 1 and District 6, part of a special election.
Polls opened at 7 a.m.
Throughout his career, Patronis has built a reputation as a fiscal conservative, frequently emphasizing his commitment to cutting government spending and limiting bureaucracy.
During an interview last month, Patronis made clear that reducing federal expenditures would be a central focus of his tenure in Congress.
“This is going to be now my new passion—to attack the wasteful spending at the federal government,” he said.
He has pledged to support Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which has already begun making deep cuts across multiple federal agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs.
We should set the standard."
She has also sharply criticized DOGE, saying that its budget cuts have led to staffing shortages at VA hospitals and made it harder for former service members to access care.
Valimont has also taken aim at Patronis’s tenure as CFO, blaming him for the state’s worsening property insurance crisis.
Unlike Patronis, who has received significant financial backing from Republican-aligned PACs, Valimont has touted her grassroots fundraising success.
Valimont has pointed to these donations as evidence of undue industry influence over state policy. Portions of Florida's Panhandle are in Central Time, which means polls do not close until 7 p.m CST (8 p.m.