Matt Gaetz Defeats McCarthy-Backed Primary Challenger in Sweeping Victory
His win marks the end of the effort to punish Republicans who voted to oust Speaker McCarthy.
![AP/Brendan Farrington](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.nysun.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F08%2FGaetz.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
Congressman Matt Gaetz has easily defeated a primary challenge backed by allies of the former House Speaker, Kevin McCarthy.
Voters in Florida overwhelmingly backed the conservative lawmaker against his primary challenger, Navy veteran Aaron Dimmock, who was supported by a group aligned with Mr. McCarthy.
As the results rolled in, Mr. Gaetz wrote on X, “Thank you FL-01. I will never stop fighting for you.”
In a separate post, he shared the vote margin and said, “Sign me up for the next Revenge Tour.”
The comment was a jab at Mr. McCarthy, who embarked on a “revenge tour” against the Republicans who voted to oust him as speaker in 2023. A group aligned with the former House speaker spent $3 million on attack ads targeting Mr. Gaetz ahead of the primary.
Tuesday’s election was one of the most expensive Republican primary elections this year.
Mr. Gaetz was the last of the Republicans who voted to oust Mr. McCarthy to face a primary this year. His victory means that the former House speaker and his allies defeated just one of the Republicans they targeted: Congressman Bob Good, who lost his primary in Virginia last month.
Mr. Good lacked the support of President Trump in his primary because he endorsed Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, in the presidential primary. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the lawmaker “turned his back on our incredible movement, and was constantly attacking and fighting me until recently, when he gave a warm and ‘loving’ Endorsement — But really, it was too late.”
While Mr. Good lacked Trump’s backing, Mr. Gaetz received his support. In one ad, the former president called him a “very good person” and a “very capable man.”
Mr. Gaetz is expected to win re-election in November.