It looks like we might know who will be replacing former Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz in Congress as President-elect Donald Trump is putting his support behind the state’s chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis. If Patronis is chosen he will take the seat left open by Gaetz in northwest Florida. Gaetz vacated his seat in order to prepare for his nomination as Attorney General, however, he later withdrew his name from consideration over information concerning an investigation into potential sexual misconduct. The Justice Department ultimately opted not to bring any charges against him.
Here’s more via Politico:
Trump said that Patronis had “been a wonderful friend to me,” even though Patronis did not endorse Trump in this year’s presidential race until after DeSantis withdrew from the primary. “Should he decide to enter this Race, Jimmy Patronis has my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, JIMMY, RUN!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Patronis appeared ready to take that advice. He put out his own social media post on Monday afternoon that said “Put me to work, Mr. President! … I am here to serve.” Trump’s decision to back Patronis follows his public support of state Sen. Randy Fine for the congressional seat of another one of his picks in a second administration, Rep. Mike Waltz.
It comes at a key moment. Elected officials interested in running in the special election to pick Gaetz’s successor are required on Monday to submit their resign-to-run letters if they want to hold on to their seats while campaigning. Two state legislators had already said they planned to jump into the race, as has one local elected official.
Interestingly, the president-elect’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, has stated that she’s interested in being appointed to the Senate in place of current Sen. Marco Rubio who has been nominated for Secretary of State. DeSantis will be choosing both replacements until the next election cycle in two years time.
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Patronis, whose family runs a famous restaurant in Panama City, has been the state’s chief financial officer, a statewide elected post, since being appointed to it in 2017 by then-Gov. Rick Scott. Patronis, who had been a legislator, had been a strong ally to Scott going back to his first run as governor when Patronis supported him over the GOP candidate backed by most of Florida’s Republican establishment,” the report said. “Patronis does not live in Gaetz’s congressional district, but he is well known throughout the region.”
This is the second congressional race in the Sunshine State that Trump has made his personal preference known for. Over the course of the weekend he published a post on social media where he urged Fine, the state senator, run for the congressional seat that is being held by Waltz. The president-elect chose Waltz to be his national security adviser.
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