Republican Patronis Wins Special Election to Replace Gaetz in Congress

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

Polls closed at 7 p.m. CT, and Patronis was declared the winner 22 minutes after polls closed and 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.

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 by 102,948 to 65,762; 88,875 to 26,122; and 92,293 to 22,299, respectively. Escabmia’s voter roll was last updated on March 1, while Okaloosa and Santa Rosa rolls were updated on election day.

Polls closed an hour earlier, and Fine was declared the winner minutes after they closed.

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.

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

When Patronis and Fine take their seats in the lower chamber of Congress, the GOP will finally have the 220-seat majority it won back in November 2024. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) was also expected to vacate her seat to pursue a nomination for U.N. Ambassador but Trump withdrew his nomination to ensure a majority in the House.

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

His choice for successor was Joe Gruters. Trump also endorsed Gruters for the position although the decision is not up to him.

“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 the 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.”