Two women allege Rep. Matt Gaetz paid for sex, per reports
Two women allege former Representative Matt Gaetz, Trump’s nominee for Attorney General, paid them for sex, according to their lawyer.
WASHINGTON – Florida Republican Jimmy Patronis beat Democrat Gay Valimont in Tuesday’s special election to fill a former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz’s House of Representatives seat, a critical win for President Donald Trump and the GOP given their narrow majorities on Capitol Hill. The race was called by the New York Times and CNN just an hour after both outlets called former Republican Rep. Mike Waltz’s seat, also in Florida, for Republican Randy Fine.
Gaetz had resigned from Congress in November last year after President Donald Trump had nominated him to serve as attorney general, prompting Patronis to launch a bid for his seat. Gaetz represented Florida’s red leaning first congressional district, which encompasses the western-most part of Florida’s panhandle, including Pensacola and Destin.
Though Patronis was favored to win the race, there were reportedly some concerns among GOP officials due to Valimont’s high fundraising figures. She had raised nearly $6.5 million through March 12, according to data from the Federal Election Commission, while Patronis has raised a little over $2.1 million.
But with his campaigning efforts and Trump’s endorsement, Patronis made it across the finish line. He told USA TODAY last week he’s full of gratitude for what Trump did to help him in the race.
“But I’m also inspired by the opportunity to fix our country. I’ve got two young boys. My family is 100% committed to this, but to have the opportunity to be part of correcting, you know, the path we’ve been on the last four years and all the damage that was done, the double digit inflation, the challenges that our families have faced,” Patronis said.
He previously served as Florida chief financial officer since 2017, but resigned from his position. His last day was on Monday.
This was the second time that Valimont lost the race for the House seat. She ran against Gaetz last year, but lost by 32 percentage points.