Vacant Gaetz Seat to Have a Republican Primary With State Rep, Green Beret, and...CFO?

The primary race for Florida's first congressional district is on after Republican state Rep. Michelle Salzman announced her bid for the Matt Gaetz-ceded seat on Tuesday, challenging the only other candidate in the race: a former Green Beret who left the military over Covid vaccine requirements.

Rep. Salzman, a 2024 Trump delegate at the Republican National Convention, filed to run Tuesday morning for the North Florida seat days after Gaetz resigned to join Trump's administration as Attorney General—even though he needs to be confirmed by a skeptical Senate to assume the post.

"I am making my intentions to run for Congress by filing today I want to do what is best for our country and helping President Trump with the Make America Great Again Agenda!" Salzman posted on social media, linking to her new campaign website.

Salzman will face former Green Beret John Frankman in the Republican primary election. Frankman announced his campaign last week with a social media post promising to "put Americans first" in CD 1, which represents the northwest corner of the Florida panhandle.

Frankman joined Gaetz at the 2024 State of the Union Address to speak out against the military's Covid vaccine mandate, which caused him to voluntarily separate from the service.

It won't just be Frankman and Salzman for long, though. Later Tuesday, top DeSantis ally and Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis announced that he might also throw his hat in the ring, posting:

"I am strongly considering running for Florida Congressional District 1. We’ve got an historic opportunity to fight the swamp, end lawfare and return power back into the hands of Americans," Patronis posted to X.

Though Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered the Department of State to set up a schedule for special elections "immediately," he has yet to publicly announce any set dates for CD 1 or for CD 6, which Rep. Mike Waltz will represent until he becomes Trump's national security adviser in January.