FIRST ON FOX: Fighter pilot and decorated combat veteran Jeff Witt announced Monday he is entering the race to fill former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s seat representing Florida’s 1st congressional district as a Republican who vows to “fight to get inflation under control, secure our borders, and strengthen our military,” while working with fellow GOP lawmakers to pass President Trump’s “America First” agenda, Fox News Digital has learned.
Witt, 38, is a two-time graduate of Harvard University, a businessman, decorated Afghanistan War veteran, F-35 fighter pilot and instructor with more than a dozen years of military service. Witt flew 82 combat missions in Operation Enduring Freedom.
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Witt is currently serving as a policy advisor on the Trump-Vance Presidential Transition Team.
“I have served my country in uniform for 14 years, and my dedication to service extends to the community in which my family and I live,” Witt told Fox News Digital. “I am excited to meet voters from all across the district in this campaign, and prove to them that they can trust me to be a leader in Congress who represents them with conviction, hard work, and integrity.”
Witt told Fox News Digital that he will “fight to get inflation under control, secure our borders, and strengthen our military.”
Jeff and his wife Courtney are the proud parents of four young children – Joan (6), Kirby (5), Grace (3), and Charlie (8 mos).
Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration for attorney general on Thursday, saying his confirmation process was “unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump-Vance transition.”
Gaetz resigned from his seat representing Florida’s 1st Congressional District earlier this month when President Trump nominated him to serve as attorney general. Gaetz has since withdrawn his name from consideration to lead the Justice Department, but said Friday he would not attempt to return to Congress.
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Witt joins a growing Republican primary field of candidates vying for the seat, including Florida State Sen. Michelle Salzman, Dr. Joel Rudman; Keith Gross and John Frankman; Bernadette Pittman; and former federal government official and teacher Kevin Gaffney.
The date for the special election has yet to be set.
Witt is the brother of Patrick Witt, a member of the Trump Transition team who ran for statewide office in Georgia in 2022 with the endorsement of President Trump. Patrick Witt also served in the first Trump administration as deputy chief of staff in the Office of Personnel Management.