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Tag: Florida

MAGA candidate wins GOP primary in Florida race to replace Matt Gaetz in Congress

The candidate endorsed by President Trump on Tuesday won the Republican primary in a special congressional election to replace former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz in Florida’s 1st Congressional District.

The Associated Press projects that Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis will win the GOP nomination in the district, which is located in the northwest corner of the state in the Panhandle region.

He will face gun safety advocate Gay Valimont, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Patronis, who was also endorsed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, topped nine other Republican candidates in the crowded primary field. He will be considered the clear favorite in the April 1 general election to fill the congressional seat in the heavily red district.

“A fourth generation Floridian from the beautiful Panhandle, and owner of an iconic seafood restaurant, Jimmy has been a wonderful friend to me, and to MAGA,” Trump wrote in a social media post earlier this month.

IT’S PRIMARY DAY IN PARTS OF THIS CRUCIAL STATE

Left: Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis; Right: President-elect Donald Trump rings the opening bell on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Dec. 12, 2024 in New York City. (Left: Fox News Digital; Right: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Gaetz resigned from Congress abruptly late last year after Trump tapped him to be his attorney general, though Gaetz eventually withdrew himself from consideration amid growing Republican opposition.

The congressman’s resignation also came as the House Ethics Committee had been preparing its report on allegations against Gaetz that included illicit drug use and sex with a minor, all of which he has denied.

Among those who fell short to Patronis in the GOP primary was a former Navy veteran who challenged Gaetz last year with the backing of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Gaetz had triggered the congressional maneuver in 2023 that eventually led to McCarthy’s ouster from power after less than a year as House speaker.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wis., on July 17, 2024. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

Patronis – whose family runs a popular restaurant in Panama City – which is outside the district -was criticized for not living in the district.

He twice won statewide elections as chief financial officer and, until Gaetz quit Congress, was seen as a potential candidate in Florida’s 2026 race to succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis delivers remarks at a campaign event in Sarasota, Florida, on Nov. 6, 2022. (Tiffany Tompkins/Bradenton Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Republican and Democratic primaries were also being held Tuesday in Florida’s 6th Congressional District, in the special election to fill the seat left vacant after GOP Rep. Michael Waltz stepped down to serve as national security adviser in the second Trump administration. The general election in the red district is also scheduled for April 1.

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With a fragile, razor-thin majority in the House, the likely reinforcements from Florida’s 1st and 6th Congressional Distircts will be welcome news to Republican leadership in the chamber as it tries to pass Trump’s agenda.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire.

January 29, 2025
Trump endorsed candidate wins GOP primary in Florida race to replace Mike Waltz in Congress

The candidate endorsed by President Trump on Tuesday won the Republican primary in a special election in Florida’s 6th Congressional District in the race to replace former GOP Rep. Michael Waltz.

Waltz stepped down from his House seat last week to serve as national security adviser in Trump’s second administration.

The Associated Press projects that state Sen. Randy Fine will win the GOP nomination in the Republican-leaning district, which stretches from Daytona Beach to the southern suburbs of Jacksonville along Florida’s Atlantic coast.

Fine, who at one time was the only Jewish Republican lawmaker in the state legislature, topped a couple of other Republicans running in the primary. He will be considered the clear favorite in the April 1 general election.

IT’S PRIMARY DAY IN PARTS OF THIS CRUCIAL STATE

State lawmaker Randy Fine, a Republican from South Brevard County, Florida, speaks during a special legislative session, on Wednesday, May 19, 2021, in Tallahassee. (AP)

Republican and Democratic primaries were also being held Tuesday in Florida’s 1st Congressional District, in the special election to fill the seat left vacant after GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz resigned from Congress abruptly late last year after Trump tapped him to be his attorney general.

Gaetz eventually withdrew himself from consideration amid growing Republican opposition. The congressman’s resignation also came as the House Ethics Committee had been preparing its report on allegations against Gaetz that included illicit drug use and sex with a minor, all of which he has denied.

Then-Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida (left) introduces then-Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth during his Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on January 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

Both of Tuesday’s Republican primaries in Florida are a test of Trump’s overwhelming clout over the GOP.

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The general election in Florida’s 1st District is also on April 1.

With a fragile, razor-thin majority in the House, the likely reinforcements from both districts will be welcome news to Republican leadership in the chamber as it tries to pass Trump’s agenda.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire.

January 29, 2025
DeSantis pushes Florida lawmakers to take action on illegal immigration, warns of consequences for defiance

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday pushed Republican state lawmakers to take urgent action on illegal immigration, voting to fight like a “junkyard dog” and warning of political consequences for defiance.

The governor leaned on the Florida legislature ahead of a special session next week, during which he wants legislators to pass new bills to crack down on illegal immigration in sync with President Donald Trump’s administration at the federal level. But GOP leaders have called the session “premature” and signaled that they may gavel out without taking action on the governor’s agenda items.

DeSantis warned that would be a costly mistake. “It would be very, very hazardous politically,” he told reporters during a roundtable discussion at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. He also suggested that he will call for another special session of the legislature if GOP leaders delay action.

BORDER ENCOUNTERS DROP SHARPLY AS TRUMP LAUNCHES CRACKDOWN ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

DeSantis holds a news conference with emergency officials as a hurricane beared down on his state on Oct. 9, 2024. (AP)

“I have my constitutional authority to wield in this process and I will continue to wield it as appropriate so that we’re able to get the job done,” he said, adding that he would fight like a “junkyard dog” to get his immigration policies enacted.

“You don’t let go.”

DeSantis wants Republicans to enact laws that would require state and local officials to comply with the new immigration orders issued by the White House and provide funding for them to do so. He has also called for legislation that would penalize state and local officials who violate Florida’s “anti-sanctuary policies,” WPTV reported.

The governor also directed lawmakers to consider additional hurricane aid, crack down on ballot initiative signature fraud and address rising HOA fees.

DESANTIS CITES ‘GULF OF AMERICA’ IN WINTER STORM ORDER AFTER TRUMP REBRANDING

People are seen boarding a U.S. military aircraft. The White House announced Friday that “deportation flights have begun” in the U.S. (White House)

House Speaker Daniel Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton reacted coolly when the governor called for a special legislative session starting on Jan. 27. In a joint statement on Jan. 13, they called it “irresponsible” for the legislature to act ahead of any announcements Trump may make on immigration and criticized DeSantis, stating the governor had offered only “fragmented ideas” and had not released any bill language or details for legislators to consider.

Lawmakers “will decide when and what legislation we consider,” the Florida House and Senate leaders said.

Trump has already issued a flurry of executive orders to begin promised “mass deportations” of illegal immigrants present in the United States. On Monday, Trump declared an emergency on the southern border, deployed 1,500 soldiers to the border and ended the Biden administration’s CBP One app program to process migrants at ports of entry via humanitarian parole.

His administration then launched a mass deportation operation, with ICE agents active in multiple cities and states across the U.S.

DESANTIS’ CHOSEN RUBIO REPLACEMENT MOODY WANTS TO TACKLE INFLATION, SPENDING, BORDER: ‘AUDIT THE FED!’

Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

The Department of Homeland Security has also issued memos rescinding limits placed on ICE by the Biden administration, ordering a review of parole and expanding the use of expedited removal for recently-arrived illegal immigrants.

And Trump’s administration has moved to restore border wall construction and reinstate the Remain-in-Mexico policy, which requires migrants to stay in Mexico for the duration of their asylum cases.

These combined policies have resulted in a sharp 35% drop in illegal immigrant encounters at the southern border, multiple Department of Homeland Security sources told Fox News Digital.

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DeSantis rejected the concerns of the legislature, telling reporters Thursday, “we’ve been waiting years for this moment. It’s not premature.”

“We can’t drag our feet. We can’t wait for something to go into effect in July. We need something immediately and we need to get everything moving, and we need to do what we told the people that elected us that we would do.”

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Chris Pandolfo is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @ChrisCPandolfo.

January 24, 2025