Matt Gaetz wins GOP nomination for House in Florida's 1st Congressional District
U.S. Rep Matt Gaetz fended off a well-financed challenge Tuesday to win the 1st Congressional District GOP primary race for the U.S. House.
His Democrat opponent in the general election Nov. 8 will be Rebekah Jones, a former Florida Department of Health employee who gained national prominence after alleging the state was manipulating COVID-19 data.
Gaetz beat newcomer Mark Lombardo, as well as Greg Merk, taking just under 70% of the vote.
Democratic challenger: Rebekah Jones wins Democratic primary, will take on Matt Gaetz for U.S. House seat
Lombardo, a former FedEx executive and Marine Corps veteran, pledged to spend $1 million of his own money to take on the incumbent. He came in with a little over 24% of the vote Tuesday.
Merk, a former military pilot who served in both the Navy and Air Force, lost a bid to unseat Gaetz as the Republican nominee in 2020. He rounded out the field with 6% of the vote this year.
The race was perceived as Gaetz's first serious challenge since he was first elected to Congress in 2016. Gaetz was out waving campaign signs Tuesday, something he hasn't done since his first bid six years ago.
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Over the last month, Lombardo ran a series of negative TV attack ads blasting Gaetz and spent more than $340,000 in his election bid, according to campaign finance reports.
Many of the Lombardo ads hit Gaetz for being under federal investigation in connection with sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl. In April 2021, the House Ethics Committee also announced an investigation into the allegations. Gaetz has vehemently denied all accusations of wrongdoing and has not been charged.
Gaetz unleashed his campaign war chest in defense, hitting back against Lombardo and accusing him of being a "liberal" by tying a founder of the political consulting firm Lombardo hired for his campaign to a nonprofit group that works with musicians to register people to vote at music events, including Pride events.
Gaetz's campaign outspent Lombardo, spending $526,000 in advertising alone, according to his campaign's latest finance report. Gaetz has spent a total of $802,788 on his campaign since July.
Gaetz brought a series of MAGA stars with him on the campaign trail including Donald Trump Jr., Ohio Republican Congressman Jim Jordon and Colorado Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert.
Gaetz was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016, and was reelected in 2018 and 2020. Previously he served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 to 2016.
The embattled Republican found himself in unfamiliar territory this campaign. Escambia County, the largest county in Gaetz's district, voted 55% in favor of Gaetz in the 2020 election, which was a loss of five points compared to the 2016 election.
Lombardo was an unexpected candidate. He said when he announced that he never dreamed when flying helicopter missions in Vietnam or working closely with FedEx CEO Fred Smith to bring the company to worldwide prominence that he would ever run for office. In his video announcing his candidacy, he said he could no longer bear to watch a dysfunctional Washington run by professional politicians. He said both President Joe Biden and Gaetz have failed to meet a high standard of performance and personal conduct constituents should expect from their elected officials.
He called Gaetz's actions as a congressman "disgraceful" and not reflective of the conservative values of Northwest Florida.
"The people of Northwest Florida need a Congressman who will put them first. Matt Gaetz is a professional politician who has dishonored his constituents with unnecessary drama, childish gimmicks, and is reportedly entangled in a federal investigation for sex-trafficking a 17-year-old girl to the Bahamas," Lombardo said. "Displaying the highest level of arrogance imaginable, he hired pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's attorneys and used the money from his hard-working America-first donors to pay the bill."
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Matt Gaetz wins GOP nomination for Florida 1st Congressional District