Florida may have over 13 million registered voters, but it didn’t take the Sunshine State long to count most of the votes cast in its Tuesday primary. (Granted, only a fraction of those registered voters cast ballots in the primary election, but still, Florida managed to get the results reported quickly.)
One race of note was Rep. Matt Gaetz’s bid for reelection in Florida’s 1st Congressional District. Gaetz faced challenger Aaron Dimmick, who was backed by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy — whose ouster Gaetz largely authored — to the tune of $3 million.
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz defeats Kevin McCarthy-backed opponent in Florida GOP primary. McCarthy’s political action committee spent $3 million against Gaetz. https://t.co/PhQMsWpYGf
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 21, 2024
With 90 percent reporting in the 1st District, Gaetz is up by 45 points over Dimmick.
Kevin McCarthy Planning ‘Revenge Operation’ Against Those Who Ousted Him
Matt Gaetz Is Apparently Continuing His Feud With Kevin McCarthy
by Going After His Primary Picks
Per the AP:
One such example was U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who defeated an opponent backed by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to win the Republican primary in one of Florida’s most conservative congressional districts.
Gaetz defeated former Navy pilot Aaron Dimmock, who was backed by a McCarthy-controlled political committee. Gaetz is considered a lock to beat Democrat Gay Valimont in a district that tends to support Republicans by more than a 2-1 ratio.
Gaetz led the effort to oust McCarthy last year, and McCarthy in turn used his political action committee to spend $3 million against Gaetz. The committee aired commercials alleging that Gaetz paid for sex with a 17-year-old, an allegation currently being investigated by the House Ethics Committee. Gaetz maintains his innocence.
Barring an upset, Gaetz is set to win his fifth term in Congress, where he’s built a national reputation as a disruptor and a staunch ally of Trump.
Gaetz’s Democrat opponent in November will be Gay Valimont, an athletic trainer and gun violence prevention activist. Safe to say an upset there isn’t particularly likely.
Incumbent Republican Senator Rick Scott also won his race handily — with 86 percent of the vote counted, Scott had garnered just shy of 85 percent of the ballots cast.
