Patronis, the outgoing Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Florida, defeated Democrat Gay Valimont in the race for the seat that borders Alabama on the Gulf Coast in the westernmost part of the Florida panhandle.
The Associated Press called the race for Patronis at 8:20 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday. With about three-fourths of the ballots counted, Patronis led with 54% of the vote to Valimont’s 46%.
Patronis’s victory is the second of the evening with Republican Randy Fine winning in Florida’s Sixth Congressional district to succeed Mike Waltz, who joined the Trump administration.
The outcome of the special elections gives Republicans some breathing room in the narrowly divided chamber. Their slim 218-213 majority will boost to 220 seats once the new members are sworn in.
As CFO, Patronis oversaw the state of Florida’s finances and regulations and served as the State Fire Marshal, a position he has held since 2017. He also served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2006 to 2014, representing a district in the Panama City area.
The race received national attention after Democrats were hoping for a long-shot victory in an attempt to erode the GOP’s narrow majority in the House. Democrats saw a glimmer of hope after achieving a significant upset victory in a GOP-leaning state Senate race in Pennsylvania last week.
Valimont raised nearly $6.4 million from Jan. 9 to March 12, five times more than Patronis, according to fundraising reports from the Federal Election Commission. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee did not invest in the race, but the Democratic National Committee stepped in to fund the rollout of a voter protection program in this district and in another special election in the 6th District but did not specify the dollar amount for the investment.
The substantial funding indicated enthusiasm among grassroots Democratic donors in a race taking place months after President Donald Trump was elected. However, despite the strong fundraising, the political landscape in the district heavily favored the GOP. In the 2024 election, Trump secured approximately 68% of the vote in the district, slightly surpassing the 66% Gaetz received that year.
The district is among one of the most reliably Republican areas of the state. It is home to both Naval Air Station Pensacola and Eglin Air Force Base. The district also has nearly 20,000 federal workers, which is about 5.6% of the district’s entire workforce, according to data from the Congressional Research Service.
Gaetz had represented the district since 2017, but he resigned just days after his 2024 re-election after Trump nominated him to be attorney general. Embroiled in a House ethics investigation, Gaetz withdrew himself from consideration after it was clear he didn’t have the Senate votes, saying his confirmation was “unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”
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Patronis received Trump’s endorsement in a crowded 10-person primary. He campaigned on a conservative platform focused on economic growth, border security, support for veterans, defending Second Amendment rights, and promoting American energy independence.
Valimont had previously challenged Gaetz for the seat in November and received 34% of the vote compared to Gaetz’s 66%.
