Florida’s 1st Congressional district will have options on August 20 with a Republican challenger to Matt Gaetz, as former Naval Aviator Aaron Dimmock filed to run in the primary at the last minute on Friday.
Dimmock is a retired Navy Commander who is currently the Director of the University of West Florida’s Leadership Center.
The 1st District has a huge percentage of military veterans who have retired there and active service members since two large military bases are located in the district -Eglin Air Force Base and Pensacola Naval Air Station. The district was previously represented by Joe Scarborough.
Dimmock’s campaign committee shares a treasurer with American Patriots PAC, a group used by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy to support candidates who aligned with him in the 2022 mid-term elections.
McCarthy allies are expected to spend lots of money trying to oust Gaetz. McCarthy blames Gaetz for his removal, believing Gaetz wanted him out because he refused to halt the Ethics Committee investigation into the Florida Man for allegedly paying for sex from an underaged girl.
Matty got busy flexing his mouth muscles in a hurry.
Gaetz called Dimmock a “Missouri-based DEI instructor.”
“Aaron is not in Kansas City anymore. This is Trump Country. Our pronouns are USA and MAGA. I’m a proud Trump Republican. I stand shoulder to shoulder with President Trump to defeat Joe Biden, secure our border, restore our economy, and support our veterans,” Gaetz wrote Monday.
Gaetz won his primary in 2022 with 69.7% of the vote.
The Democratic challenger Gay Valimont is a gun violence prevention activist in Pensacola, according to her campaign website.
McCarthy is also openly backing a primary challenger to Nancy Mace, who joined Gaetz in the effort to boot McCarthy. Mace called McCarthy “a bitter mean-girl on a revenge tour.” McCarthy responded that Mace needs to “seek help” for psychiatric issues.