Florida's 1st Congressional District special election, 2025 (January 28 Republican primary)

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Jimmy Patronis (R) won the special Republican primary in Florida's 1st Congressional District on January 28, 2025. Nine other candidates also ran. The general election was on April 1, 2025. Two candidates — Patronis and Joel Rudman (R) — led in media attention and endorsements. Aaron Dimmock (R), who ran in the 2024 Republican primary also ran in the special election.

The previous incumbent, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R), resigned from Congress after President Donald Trump (R) nominated him for attorney general.^[1] Gaetz later withdrew from consideration for the attorney general nomination.^[2]^[3]

ABC News' Brittany Shepherd wrote, "It appears [Gaetz'] seat will be vacant for months -- presenting a challenge for House Republicans who already maintain a slim majority in the incoming Congress."^[4]

Then-Gov. Rick Scott (R) appointed Patronis chief financial officer in 2017.^[5] Patronis served in the Florida House from 2006 to 2014 and on the Florida Public Service Commission.

Patronis earned an associate degree in restaurant management from Gulf Coast Community College and a bachelor's degree in political science from Florida State University.^[6] After he graduated, Patronis was appointed to the Florida Elections Commission.^[6] In a campaign ad, Patronis said, "When President Trump asked me to run for Congress, to go to Washington and fight for him, my answer was 'Yes, sir.'"^[7] Five candidates in the race dropped out and endorsed Patronis.^[8]

Rudman represented the 3rd District in the Florida House from 2022 through 2024. His resignation from the state House to run in the special election was effective on January 1, 2025.^[9]

Rudman was a doctor. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1993 and his medical degree from the University of Mississippi in 1996.^[10] His slogan in his state House campaign was, "I didn't go into politics. Politics went into medicine."^[9] Rudman said, "I didn't get a call from D.C. to run for this race. I got a call from the citizens who are sitting in this room to run for this race, and that's why I'm here."^[11]

At a candidate forum, Patronis said, "There’s nobody that will work harder than Jimmy because for the folks of Congressional District 1, I’ve got a heck of a work record of accomplishments, and I intend to take what I’ve been doing for the last 10 years for the entire state of Florida and make a difference in CD1."^[12] Rudman said, "You don’t replace a firebrand with a wet rag. You replace a fighter with a fighter, and that’s me. I’m a fighter.”^[12]

Dimmock, who ran in the 2024 Republican primary, said he believed voters were "ready for someone to come in, to move away from the chaos that was started by Matt in the Republican Party, in Congress. And they're ready for an alternative option for change. Someone who's going to represent them duly up on the Hill."^[13] Click here to read more about the August 20, 2024, Republican primary.

Florida Politics' Jacob Ogles wrote, "Dimmock walks into the race after spending almost $311,000 promoting himself to voters in CD 1, an advantage no other Republican running can claim."^[14]

Seven other Republican candidates also ran: Kevin Gaffney, Jeff Macey, Greg Merk, John Mills, Jeff Peacock, Michael Thompson, and Gene Valentino.

This page focuses on Florida's 1st Congressional District special Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the district's special Democratic primary and the special general election, see the following pages:

At the time of the election, four special elections had been called for the 119th Congress. From the 113th Congress to the 118th Congress, 80 special elections were held. For more data on historical congressional special elections, click here.

Candidates and election results

Republican primary election

Special Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 1

The following candidates ran in the special Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 1 on January 28, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jimmy Patronis	65.7	33,742
		Joel Rudman	9.9	5,099
		Aaron Dimmock	6.7	3,423
		Gene Valentino	6.0	3,093
		Michael Dylan Thompson	5.0	2,548
		Greg Merk	2.5	1,287
	Submit photo	Jeff Peacock	1.4	743
		Kevin Gaffney	1.2	634
		John Mills	1.1	574
	Submit photo	Jeff Macey	0.4	187

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 51,330
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Voting information

See also: Voting in Florida

Election information in Florida District 1: Jan. 28, 2025, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Dec. 30, 2024
By mail: Postmarked by Dec. 30, 2024
Online: Dec. 30, 2024

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: Jan. 16, 2025
By mail: Received by Jan. 16, 2025
Online: Jan. 16, 2025

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: Jan. 28, 2025
By mail: Received by Jan. 28, 2025

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Jan. 18, 2025 to Jan. 25, 2025

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. (EST/CST)

Candidate comparison

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Kevin Gaffney

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography: "Kevin has several years of federal government experience including working for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, DOJ Criminal Unit, in Chicago, Illinois, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Division of Enforcement in Washington, D.C., and for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of General Counsel, in Illinois. He served in the areas of criminal investigation, FOIA, management analyst, and administrative law Kevin also has several years of teaching experience as an adjunct professor at Judson University, Elgin, Illinois, and at Northwest Florida State College, where he taught courses in criminology, public sector budgeting, and American government respectively. He currently teaches American government, economics, and history at Rocky Bayou Christian School in Niceville, Florida. Kevin graduated from Stetson University with a B.A. in political science. He graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a Master’s in public administration. Kevin and his wife Jane have lived in Freeport, Florida, Hammock Bay, for nearly six years. They have five adult children and four grandchildren. Kevin is a Christian and he and his wife attend Destiny Worship Center in Freeport, Florida. Kevin has been active and supportive of the Republican Party both in Illinois and Florida. He previously served in the GOP, worked on campaigns, and earlier ran for office. He describes himself as a Reagan Republican and fiscal and social conservative."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

Kevin is running because he feels strongly about the direction of this country and the 1st District of Florida. If elected to Congress, he states he would support and propose: Better healthcare accessibility and care for Veterans. New VA facilities and free market options for medical care for all Veterans.

No taxes on Social Security, pensions, or tips. He will work with the State of Florida in reducing or eliminating property taxes. Lower taxes for all Americans. He will propose a Constitutional Amendment to balance the budget. He fully supports DOGE. He will propose a Constitutional Amendment for term limits for both members of the House and Senate. He states he would limit himself to a maximum of three terms or six years in office.

He would drastically limit foreign aid and any U.S. role in foreign entanglements not in our national interest. He favors the support of alternatives to government education, including charter and private schools. He supports the reduction of federal government spending at all levels. He supports a total realignment of the Department of Justice, F.B.I., C.I.A., and Secret Service with accountability at all levels of these agencies. He would support the elimination of the FISA Courts. He strongly opposes illegal immigration. He supports a secure northern and southern border. He would support immigration reform. He is ardently pro-life and supports the biblical view that life begins at conception. Fully supports the 2nd Amendment.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Florida District 1 in 2025.

Jimmy Patronis

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office:

Florida Chief Financial Officer (Assumed office: 2017)
Florida Constitutional Revision Commission (2017)
Florida Public Service Commission (2015-2017)
Florida House of Representatives (2006-2014)

Biography: Patronis was a restaurant owner. He earned his associate degree in restaurant management from Gulf Coast Community College and his bachelor's degree in political science from Florida State University.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Patronis wrote, "I am HONORED to have President Trump's endorsement and I will FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT for him in Washington, just as President Trump has fought for all of us!"

Patronus said, "We've got an open border policy that's got to be closed. We will close that with the Trump administration in place."

Patronis said, "I'm also going to listen to all the needs of our veterans in northwest Florida. ... In my opinion, there's not enough we can do to pay them back for their sacrifice."

Show sources

Sources: X, "Jimmy Patronis on December 13, 2024," accessed December 18, 2024; X, "Jimmy Patronis on December 13, 2024," accessed December 18, 2024; X, "The Floridian on December 10, 2024," accessed December 18, 2024; Jimmy Patronis 2025 campaign website, "Meet Jimmy," accessed December 18, 2024

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Florida District 1 in 2025.

Joel Rudman

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office:

Florida House of Representatives (2022-2024)

Biography: Rudman was a physician. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and his medical degree from the University of Mississippi.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Rudman said, "I didn't get a call from D.C. to run for this race. I got a call from the citizens who are sitting in this room to run for this race, and that's why I'm here."

Rudman said, "I'm not afraid of a good fight. I think that's what the citizens of Northwest Florida want at the congressional level. ... People see me as the natural successor to Matt Gaetz."

Rudman said, "We've got to secure the border, we've got to strengthen our economy. We've got to encourage businesses to open businesses in America and employ Americans."

Show sources

Sources: Pensacola News Journal, "Republican candidates hit front-runner Jimmy Patronis in election to replace Gaetz," December 9, 2024; Pensacola News Journal, "State Rep. Joel Rudman to seek US House seat left vacant by resignation of Matt Gaetz," November 20, 2024; Florida House of Representatives, "Dr. Joel Rudman," accessed December 18, 2024

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Florida District 1 in 2025.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

Campaign ads

Jimmy Patronis

December 12, 2024

View more ads here:

YouTube

Joel Rudman

Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for Joel Rudman while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.

Endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

Click the links below to see official endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites for any candidates that make that information available. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.

Election competitiveness

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.

Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.^[15]
Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.^[16]^[17]^[18]

Race ratings: Florida's 1st Congressional District election, 2024
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2024	October 29, 2024	October 22, 2024	October 15, 2024
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Election spending

Campaign spending

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Aaron Dimmock	Republican Party	$50,636	$132,141	$1,376	As of September 30, 2025
Kevin Gaffney	Republican Party	$13,575	$14,190	$324	As of March 31, 2025
Jeff Macey	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Greg Merk	Republican Party	$35,199	$34,949	$-4,350	As of January 28, 2025
John Mills	Republican Party	$11,061	$12,757	$362	As of September 30, 2025
Jimmy Patronis	Republican Party	$2,813,720	$2,413,464	$400,256	As of September 30, 2025
Jeff Peacock	Republican Party	$29,099	$37,665	$0	As of March 31, 2025
Joel Rudman	Republican Party	$125,820	$125,820	$0	As of February 24, 2025
Michael Dylan Thompson	Republican Party	$86,976	$111,976	$-25,000	As of June 30, 2025
Gene Valentino	Republican Party	$478,960	$478,960	$0	As of March 4, 2025
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2025. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. * Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.^[19]^[20]^[21]

If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2024 U.S. House elections in the state.
Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.

District map

Competitiveness
Presidential elections

State party control

Below was the map in use at the time of the election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2024

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in Florida.

Florida U.S. House competitiveness, 2014-2024
Office	Districts/ offices	Seats	Open seats	Candidates	Possible primaries	Contested Democratic primaries	Contested Republican primaries	% of contested primaries	Incumbents in contested primaries	% of incumbents in contested primaries
2024	28	28	1	101	56	9	21	53.6%	15	55.6%
2022	28	28	6	151	56	14	24	67.9%	17	73.9%
2020	27	27	2	114	54	10	19	53.7%	10	40.0%
2018	27	27	4	104	54	19	12	57.4%	11	47.8%
2016	27	27	7	100	54	11	13	44.4%	9	47.4%
2014	27	27	0	75	54	5	10	27.8%	8	29.6%

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Florida in 2024. Information below was calculated on May 7, 2024, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

One hundred three candidates ran for Florida’s 28 U.S. House districts, including 42 Democrats and 61 Republicans. That’s 3.68 candidates per district, less than in the previous three election cycles. There were 5.43 candidates per district in 2022, 4.22 candidates per district in 2020, and 3.86 in 2018.

The 8th Congressional District was the only open district, meaning no incumbents filed to run. That’s the fewest open seats in Florida since 2014 when no seats were open. Incumbent Rep. Bill Posey (R-8th) did not run for re-election because he is retired from public office.

Seven candidates—incumbent Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-23rd) and six Republicans—ran for the 23rd Congressional District, the most candidates who ran for a seat in 2024.

Thirty primaries—nine Democratic and 21 Republican—were contested in 2024. Thirty-eight primaries were contested in 2022, 29 primaries were contested in 2020, and 31 primaries were contested in 2018.

Fifteen incumbents—two Democrats and 13 Republicans—were in contested primaries in Florida in 2024. That’s less than the 17 incumbents in contested primaries in 2022 but more than the 10 incumbents in contested primaries in 2020.

The 20th Congressional District is guaranteed to Democrats because no Republicans will appear on the ballot. Democrats filed to run in every congressional district, meaning none are guaranteed to Republicans.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+19. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 19 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Florida's 1st the 45th most Republican district nationally.^[22]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2020 presidential election would have been in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

2020 presidential results in Florida's 1st based on 2024 district lines
Joe Biden	Donald Trump
33.0%	65.3%

Inside Elections Baselines

See also: Inside Elections

Inside Elections' Baseline is a figure that analyzes all federal and statewide election results from the district over the past four election cycles. The results are combined in an index estimating the strength of a typical Democratic or Republican candidate in the congressional district.^[23] The table below displays the Baseline data for this district.

Inside Elections Baseline for 2024
Democratic Baseline	Republican Baseline	Difference
29.1	69.7	D+40.6

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Florida, 2020

Florida presidential election results (1900-2020)

17 Democratic wins
14 Republican wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	D	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	D	R	R	D	D	R	R

See also: Party control of Florida state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Florida's congressional delegation as of May 2024.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Florida
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	0	8	8
Republican	2	20	22
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	28	30

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Florida's top four state executive offices as of May 2024.

State executive officials in Florida, May 2024
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Ron DeSantis
Lieutenant Governor	Jeanette Nuñez
Secretary of State	Cord Byrd
Attorney General	Ashley B. Moody

State legislature

Florida State Senate

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	12
	Republican Party	28
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		40

Florida House of Representatives

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	36
	Republican Party	84
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		120

Trifecta control

The table below shows the state's trifecta status from 1992 until the 2024 election.

Florida Party Control: 1992-2024
One year of a Democratic trifecta • Twenty-five years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Governor	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	I	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	D	S	S	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Election context

District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 1

Incumbent Matt Gaetz (R) defeated Gay Valimont (D) in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 1 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Matt Gaetz (R)	66.0	274,108
	Gay Valimont (D)	34.0	140,980

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 415,088
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Democratic primary

The Democratic primary scheduled for August 20, 2024, was canceled. Gay Valimont (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 1 without appearing on the ballot.

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 1

Incumbent Matt Gaetz (R) defeated Aaron Dimmock (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 1 on August 20, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Matt Gaetz	72.6	70,824
	Aaron Dimmock	27.4	26,788

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 97,612
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