Candidates Emerge to Fill Gaetz’s House Seat

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After AG nomination, Gaetz resigned from his seat for the remainder of his term and announced his intention not to take the oath of office on Jan. 3, 2025.

The fate of former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-Fla.) congressional seat in the 119th Congress appears to be up in the air in the hours after he withdrew his bid to become U.S. attorney general in the Trump administration on Nov. 21.

Several Floridians have already announced their candidacy to be his replacement.

Gaetz won a decisive reelection victory in Florida’s First Congressional District on Nov. 5.

However, on Nov. 13, he submitted a resignation letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for the remainder of his current term and announced his intention not to take the oath of office on Jan. 3, 2025.

Gaetz sent a similar letter to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who called his secretary of state, Cord Byrd, to begin preparations for a special election.

Shortly after Gaetz ended his pursuit to be attorney general, his wife Ginger tweeted a picture of the two of them on the steps of the Capitol Building with the caption, “the end of an era.”

It is unclear at the time of publication whether or not Gaetz would be able to retract his intention not to take the oath of office and uphold his reelection victory, or if he could or would attempt to reclaim it by running in the special election.

No date has been confirmed for that election.

However, it has been expected that the winner of that election will serve the near-entirety of Gaetz’s term, and several eager Floridians have already announced their candidacies.

The Epoch Times has reached out to both Gaetz’s office and Florida’s secretary of state for clarification.

Candidates to Replace Gaetz

Veteran and Florida state Rep. Michelle Salzman formally announced her candidacy for Gaetz’s seat on Nov. 19.

In her announcement on social media platform X, she wrote, “I want to do what is best for our country … helping President Trump with the Make America Great Again agenda!”

Salzman is from Pensacola, Florida, and has represented Florida’s first state district in the capital of Tallahassee since 2020.

Her campaign website touts her work over that time on several issues, including border security, veterans support, mental health, education, and fighting the spread of fentanyl.

She posted on X after Gaetz announced his withdrawal from the attorney general nomination: “@mattgaetz is a fighter through and through. Like Floridians across our state, I stand with Matt whenever and wherever his next fight may be.”

John Frankman, a former Green Beret and captain in the special forces, and one of the thousands of servicemen and women pulled from the armed forces for declining to take the COVID-19 vaccine, has also announced his candidacy.

He was Gaetz’s guest at the State of the Union address and continues to be vocal about holding the government accountable for the vaccine mandates.

He has also called for the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

“I fought for our freedoms in the Army, and I’m ready to do it again,” Frankman wrote on X.

Keith Gross is another candidate. The army veteran, pilot, and venture capitalist already earned an endorsement from the College Republicans of Florida State University.

Gross told voters on X that he is “a Constitutional, America First conservative running for Congress to keep Washington out of your life.”

He has called for the abolition of both the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which sits within the Justice Department, and the Department of Education.

Gross also took to X in reaction to Gaetz’s decision and called for DeSantis to appoint Gaetz to Sen. Marco Rubio’s soon-to-be-vacant Senate seat.

“I was really looking forward to seeing AG @mattgaetz crack heads at the Justice Dept,” he wrote. “Now that he is free: Matt Gaetz for Senate! Put Matt in @SenMarcoRubio’s seat, and we’ll have a reliable vote to confirm Trump’s appointments.”

Meanwhile, Democrat Gay Valimont is making another attempt to secure Gaetz’s seat despite losing the Nov. 5 election by more than 30 percent of the vote.

“After Matt Gaetz resigned just days after voters entrusted him with their representation, it’s clear: our district deserves better,” her campaign said on X.

“Gay is ready to bring accountability, integrity, and real solutions to Congress—and she’s here to stay and fight for you.”

Additionally, Florida’s current chief financial officer and fire marshal, Jimmy Patronis, announced that he is “strongly considering” throwing his hat into the ring.

“We’ve got a historic opportunity to fight the swamp, end lawfare, and return power back into the hands of Americans,” he wrote on X on Nov. 19.

DeSantis has also requested a special election for Rep. Mike Waltz’s seat in Florida’s sixth district.

Waltz was nominated to become Trump’s national security adviser—a traditionally non-Cabinet position that Trump indicated he may elevate this term.