(The Center Square) — Incumbent U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is facing a primary challenge, but polling says Republicans seem likely to keep the 1st Congressional District in their column.
Gaetz has drawn a primary challenger, Pensacola native and former naval aviator Aaron Dimmock. The winner of the Aug. 20 GOP primary will face Democrat candidate Gay Valimont on Nov. 5.
Gaetz, a conservative lawmaker and ally of former President Donald Trump has held the seat in the 1st District since 2017 after serving as a state representative from 2010 to 2016.
The district includes Escambia, Okaloosa, and Santa Rosa counties, as well as portions of Walton County. In 2020, Escambia County voted nearly 57% for Trump, with the other counties averaging more than 70% for the GOP candidate.
According to the Federal Election Commission, as of July 31, Gaetz has raised nearly $5.7 million, far outpacing Dimmock who has raised $347,675 in contributions.
Democrat candidate Gay Valimont raised a total of $695,641.
A poll from FiveThirtyEight shows Gaetz leading the primary poll by a whopping 47 percentage points.
Gaetz said on X that Dimmick was a “BLM-supporting DEI instructor who lives in Missouri.”
Dimmick said in a post on X that “Matt Gaetz can’t even go to the Republican National Convention without throwing a fit and embarrassing his constituents and the entire Republican party when we’re all supposed to be coming together to officially nominate President Trump.”
The Democrat challenger, Valimont, is running on three key points — accessible health care, gun control and the rights of women, minorities, the LGBTQ community and abortion rights. On her campaign website, Valimont states Gaetz was “born into privilege,” and has been surrounded by controversy.
“His approach is often more focused on personal gain, than on the needs of our community,” Valimont said in a campaign advertisement.
Valimont further stated on X that Gaetz is being shown unfair bias by the media within the district.
“The unfair coverage Gaetz gets and the sheer bias of WEAR (TV) is obscene. The richest candidate in the race doesn’t have to spend money to advertise! To make this right, after the primary, you should host a Congressional debate btw me and the primary winner,” Valimont said in a post on X.
In another post, Valimont acknowledged just how difficult it will be for her to win a race in a deeply Republican district.
“I just got home from a candidate forum in Shalimar #Florida, which of the 300 people that attended, was about 90% Republican (half of that Gaetz/MAGA). Me, Gaetz, and Dimmock.
Needless to say, my “non-negotiable freedom to abortion healthcare rights” didn’t get rousing applause,” Valimont said on X.