Republican Patronis Wins Special Election to Replace Gaetz in Congress

Republicans retained 2 House seats in Florida, increasing the GOP majority to 220-213.

Jimmy Patronis celebrates his special election victory in Pensacola, Flordia, on April 1, 2025. (T.J. Muscaro/The Epoch Times).

PENSACOLA, Fla.—Republicans have retained control of Florida’s First Congressional District as Jimmy Patronis was declared the winner of the special election to replace former Rep. Matt Gaetz on April 1.

“Let it be known that this election is a reminder that the Florida Panhandle will forever be red and will be forever Trump country,” he said in a victory speech.

Patronis was declared the winner 22 minutes after the polls closed at 7 p.m. CDT, with 74 percent of the vote counted and Patronis commanding more than 52 percent of that tally. At the same time, Democrat Gay Valimont was trailing with 45.7 percent of the vote.

With more than 95 percent of the votes tallied, Patronis earned 57 percent of the vote.

Patronis’s race was run in a largely Republican district. It mostly consists of Escambia, Okaloosa, and Santa Rosa counties, where registered Republican voters outnumber Democrat voters 102,948–65,762, 88,875–26,122, and 92,293–22,299, respectively. Escambia’s voter roll was last updated on March 1, while Okaloosa and Santa Rosa rolls were updated on election day.

The Democratic Party did not let these numbers deter it in its attempt to flip the seat. Valimont raised $6.4 million, compared with Patronis’s $1.2 million, according to Federal Election Commission data.

Patronis referred to his opponent’s spending in his victory speech, joking that “even their $6 million cannot overcome one simple post on social media by Donald Trump.”

However, while taking questions from the press afterward, he gave full credit to the voters of his district.

“Six and a half million dollars was spent against us, and they could not change the hearts and minds of Northwest Florida,” he said. “Northwest Florida wants a conservative government in Tallahassee. They want a conservative government in Washington, D.C., and that’s exactly what they’re going to get.”

220 Seats in the House

The GOP victory comes on the heels of another win across the state, in Florida’s Sixth Congressional District, which saw state Sen. Randy Fine declared the winner of the special election to replace former Rep. Michael Waltz.

Fine was declared the winner minutes after the polls closed an hour earlier.

President Donald Trump endorsed both candidates shortly after Gaetz and Waltz announced they would step down to accept their Cabinet nominations. In fact, Trump endorsed Patronis before he even officially announced his candidacy.

“When President Trump asks you to run for Congress, you don’t say no,” Patronis told The Epoch Times in December 2024.

When Patronis and Fine take their seats in the lower chamber of Congress, the GOP will have the 220-seat majority it won last November. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) was also expected to vacate her seat to pursue a nomination for U.N. Ambassador, but Trump withdrew the nomination to ensure a majority in the House.

Patronis served as Florida’s chief financial officer (CFO) and fire marshal under Gov. Ron DeSantis until election day.

The governor continued to support Patronis throughout the campaign. However, that was not the case with Fine, who clashed with DeSantis in recent months.

However, “the great thing is we’re all going to be rowing in the same direction,” Patronis said.

Making Florida Better

Patronis said he hopes to address needs in his home district, including an urgent need to streamline veterans’ care, fix Social Security, shore up infrastructure, and get the economy back on track.

“We want to make America wealthy again,” he said in his victory speech. “That’s the goal. Florida is in the best fiscal health it’s ever been. I tell you, I really want to make America Florida.”

However, he leaves Florida without a definite successor to take on the role of CFO and state fire marshal, and he said that the governor should have already appointed that person.

“I have no idea who’s going to sign checks tomorrow, but there’s a good group of people in the Department of Financial Services that are going to keep the trains running on time,” he said.

Patronis expressed pride in the work he did during his eight years in that department. To him, it’s the most important agency in the state, he said.

His choice for successor last December was Joe Gruters, who was also endorsed by Trump.

Patronis said he was confident that he was leaving the state of Florida in good hands.

“Whoever my successor is, [he or she] is going to inherit an awesome group of public servants who love nothing more than helping their fellow Floridians,” Patronis said in a farewell letter to Floridians on social media platform X.

“It was the honor of a lifetime to serve as your CFO, I can’t thank everyone enough for your support over the years. And if you could do me this one last favor—please keep our first responders in your prayers at night.”

Patronis first heard from former Florida Gov. Sen. Rick Scott. The new congressman credited Scott for giving him his start in politics.

“I tell people one thing about Jimmy Patronis is he’s always grateful and he’s always loyal,” he said.

That gratitude and loyalty go to both Scott and Trump, he said, noting “the sacrifice that those men are making right now to try to save our country.”

Patronis suggested that he and Fine will report to the nation’s capital on April 2.