Former Congressman Matt Gaetz Says He May Run for Florida Governor

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) speaks with reporters in Washington on Oct. 16, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) says he may launch a gubernatorial bid.

“I am starting to think about running for governor,” Gaetz told the Tampa Bay Times in an interview published on Jan. 7.

Gaetz, 42, stepped down from the House in 2024 after President-elect Donald Trump selected him to be U.S. attorney general. With key senators opposing Gaetz’s nomination, the former congressman decided to withdraw from consideration before Trump was inaugurated.

Trump has since picked Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, to head the Department of Justice.

Gaetz opted against trying to reenter Congress, at least for now, and accepted a job as a host for the cable network One America News.

Now, he’s floated launching a bid to become Florida’s next governor, in what could be a competitive race to succeed term-limited Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“I have a compelling vision for the state,” Gaetz told the Tampa Bay Times. “I understand how to fix the insurance problem, and it’s not to hand the keys to the state over to the insurance industry. If I run, I would be the most pro-consumer candidate on the Republican side.”

He could face scrutiny for alleged illegal activity, after a House Ethics Committee report released in December 2024 alleged he paid women for drugs and sex, accepted gifts while in office, and engaged in sexual relations with a 17-year-old minor.

Gaetz has consistently denied wrongdoing and was never charged with a crime.

“Those lies have been told about me for years,” he told the Tampa Bay Times. “They’ve never affected my ability to win elections.”

Gaetz, then a state representative, won an open race in 2016 to represent Florida’s First Congressional District in Congress. He won reelection in 2018 with 67 percent of the vote, in 2020 with 64.6 percent of the vote, in 2022 with 67.9 percent of the vote, and in 2024 with 66 percent of the vote.

Florida, formerly a toss-up state, has shifted to a red state in recent years. DeSantis narrowly won the election in 2018 with 49.6 percent of the vote but won another term in 2022 with 59.4 percent. Trump easily won Florida in the 2024 election with 56 percent of the vote, or 6.1 million votes to Vice President Kamala Harris’s 4.6 million.

Other possible Florida gubernatorial candidates for the 2026 race include Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. DeSantis has said his wife, Casey DeSantis, is not interested in running for governor.