Matt Gaetz’s Father Wins Bid For State Senate

The Gaetz family dynasty is just beginning.

Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Florida’s preeminent Trump-supporting congressman, saw his father elected to the State Senate on Tuesday. With 100% of votes reported in Panhandle District 1, Don Gaetz, a Republican, defeated Democratic candidate Lisa Newell for the open seat. The win is a remarkable turn of fortune for Gaetz, Sr., who previously served as Senate president from 2012 to 2014 and as Senator from 2006 to 2016.

The year his father retired, Rep. Gaetz first won his seat in the U.S. House when succeeding former Rep. Ray Sansom in Florida’s 1st District, a reliably red area of a conservative state colloquially referred to as “Floribama.” He rose to power on the shoulders of Gaetz, Sr., who in his current race had the backing of both his son and Senate President-Designate Ben Albritton, according to FL Voice News.

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“Don Gaetz is a statesman and a warrior for the cause of conservatism,” Albritton said earlier this year. “I admire his passion for the people of Florida’s Panhandle and his commitment to ensuring they have a strong voice in Tallahassee.”

In a statement, Don Gaetz promised to pursue Republican causes at the top of voters’ minds this year, including the cost of living in an area where seniors on fixed incomes make up a higher proportion of Florida’s population than nearly every other state in the country. “The Florida we love has become unaffordable for too many of our residents,” Gaetz said, declaring victory Tuesday night.. “That’s why my focus will be to lower the cost of living for our families and seniors – I’ll work to hold insurance companies accountable, make housing more affordable, and bring down the cost of our utility bills. I won’t rest until we have made Florida affordable again.” He thanked his supporters as well as Sen. Doug Broxson, whose seat he will be filling. “He has been a true champion for Northwest Florida,” Gaetz, Sr. said.

BREAKING: Don Gaetz, father of @MattGaetz, elected to the Florida Senate to represent Panhandle District 1https://t.co/iywLmEeC3H

— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) November 6, 2024

Florida’s housing crisis, like much of the U.S., proved to be a political windfall for Republicans in the elections. U.S. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) easily beat back a challenge by Democratic former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell with support from the Florida Realtors Association, who also endorsed Gaetz, Sr.’s Senate run. “These are not Democrat or Republican issues,” Gaetz told the Pensacola News Journal in October. “If we don’t fix them, Florida is going to be less and less of a place for people to prosper … migration into Florida has slowed considerably.”

At the federal level, Rep. Gaetz is on track to be part of an expanded House majority under Speaker Mike Johnson (R-FL) who blessed his reelection campaign against Democratic challenger Gay Valimont. He celebrated securing his fifth two-year term alongside President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago Tuesday night, WKRG reported.

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