Jimmy Patronis coasts to victory in CD 1 Special Election, fending off deluge of Democrat dollars

Republican Jimmy Patronis has secured a seat in Congress, beating Democrat Gay Valimont despite an unexpected surge of spending by the Democrat.

With most votes counted across the district, Patronis led with more than 55% of the vote while Valimont pulled in just under 44%. Stephen Brody, a candidate running without party affiliation, also claimed about 1% of the vote.

That means Patronis will succeed former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, keeping the district in Republican hands.

The results aren’t a huge surprise. No congressional district in Florida boasts a stronger track record of Republican support than Florida’s 1st Congressional District. In November, Valimont lost to Gaetz by 36 percentage points, as the district broke for President Donald Trump by 38 points.

But this time, as Democrats nationwide sought an outlet to express outrage at Trump’s return to Washington, small-dollar donors piled into the Special Election. Valimont raised upward of $6.5 million in donations as of March 12, while Patronis reported more than $2 million in contributions. With that money, Democrats hoped to beat historic trends to win — or at least to send a message to Washington about discontent within the electorate, even in Trump country.

Patronis, for his part, remained confident throughout that the values of Panhandle voters would translate into election results. On the eve of the election, he told Florida Politics that voters in CD 1 want to empower Trump’s agenda, not cripple it.

“These are the same folks that less than six months ago overwhelmingly voted to elect President Donald J. Trump to the White House,” Patronis said.

“They were fed up the last four years. They were fed up with the inflation crisis. They were fed up with being poor. They wanted a government that was responsible to the people, and this is why they showed up the way they did. So you know, they’re going to expect government that’s going to be effective and responsive to their needs. This is what they’re going to get with me.”

Valimont said voters in the district deserved a change. After the election, she provided the following statement to Florida Politics, claiming a spiritual victory even as a seat in Congress remained out of reach.

“Today, we conclude a campaign that was built on the belief that every voice matters,” Valimont said. “While the results were not what we hoped for, I am proud of the journey we’ve taken and the conversations I have had over the last 20 months. This is hard, but this is how we change things, it takes time. My opponent now must attempt to represent the people of this district after not having the decency to campaign here or have any policy points he put forth. I plan to attend his first town hall with interest since we are yet to hear about his plans for Florida’s First.”

Patronis has served most of the last decade as Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, a post he had to resign from as of Monday to run for the U.S. House. Valimont has been involved in politics as an activist, including working for Moms Demand Action to find ways to curb gun violence.

Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried canvassed in Pensacola on Tuesday, and along with Valimont spotlighted a redirection of voters in an heavily Democratic precinct in Escambia County to a different location to vote than in November, something the party characterized as “voter suppression.”

But the votes affected there were a small number compared to Patronis’ margin of victory. He also saw the party step in and help after Democrats poured money into the Panhandle race.

Trump, who endorsed Patronis before entering the race, held a tele-rally for the Panama City Republican this weekend. Republican Party of Florida Executive Director Bill Helmich said party volunteers made 200,000 phone calls in this race and another Special Election being held Tuesday.

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