Jimmy Patronis won Tuesday’s special election for Florida’s 1st Congressional District, filling the seat left empty by Matt Gaetz.
With 99% of the votes counted, Patronis won the race against Democrat Gay Valimont with 57% of the votes. The Associated Press called the race by 7:20 p.m.
Patronis, a Panama City native endorsed by President Donald Trump, has been Florida’s Chief Financial Officer since 2017. In an interview last month, he said reducing federal spending would be his central focus.
In an email statement, Patronis called the Panhandle a “force of its own” and said he was going to Washington to help President Trump “battle against all this far left insanity...to buttress his strong moves to return common sense to America...to pull our country out of the ditch.”
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“I like to think that when President Trump says Make America Great Again, he's thinking about us,” Patronis continued. “I am humbled by all of the support in this race. I'm no better than anyone else, and I will do everything I can to represent this district.”
The special election was called when Matt Gaetz resigned from the seat after President Donald Trump announced him as his pick for attorney general. Valimont ran against Gaetz for the same seat during the general election in 2024, in which she only won 34% of the votes. In Tuesday’s special election, she had 42.2% and won the majority of votes in Escambia County with 50.91% of the votes.
Valimont, a longtime activist and former state leader for Moms Demand Action, ran her campaign with an emphasis on health care access and veterans’ services. A central promise was the expansion of VA healthcare in the district.
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After the race was called Tuesday, she spoke to supporters, saying, “I’m not going anywhere.”
“We have started something we’re going to finish it. Not today,” she said. “I’m not disappointed y’all.”
With $1.7 million left in the campaign's bank account, Valimont said she would be donating $25,000 to each Democratic Executive Committee, each county,
"So that each county can have their own spot so that we can build wealth in our beliefs," she said.
Democrats in both the District 1 and District 6 races outraised and outspent their opponents, though the republican candidates were favored to win.
Voter turnout across the district was high for a special election. Voter turnout for the January Special Primary was a little over 15% in Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties and over 20% in Escambia. Unofficial results from Tuesday’s primary show turnout at 27.66% in Okaloosa and 28.57% in Santa Rosa. In Escambia County, there was a 33% turnout, which resulted in some precinct locations experiencing temporary ballot shortages, the office reported.
Adding to the Republican majority in Congress, state Senator Randy Fine won the special election against Democrat Josh Weil to represent Florida’s 6th Congressional district.
In the Florida House District 3 primary, former Okaloosa County Commissioner Nathan Boyles came out on top in a field of eight candidates. Boyles will face Democrat Dondre Wise on the June 10 special election.
