Rep. Matt Gaetz, whose successful maneuvering to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year plunged House Republicans into chaos — and made the Florida Republican deeply unpopular among his GOP colleagues — is facing a primary challenger in his re-election bid.
Retired Navy aviator Aaron Dimmock filed to run against Gaetz just ahead of the deadline on Friday. According to The New York Times, the treasurer for Dimmock's campaign committee also works for American Patriots PAC, a McCarthy-aligned group that in 2022 helped elect Republicans who were aligned with the then-speaker's agenda.
Gaetz called Dimmock a “BLM supporting DEI instructor” and McCarthy’s “puppet” in a post on X on Monday.
“I’m excited to welcome Missouri-based DEI instructor Aaron Dimmock to the campaign," he told NBC News in a statement. "Aaron is not in Kansas City anymore. This is Trump Country. Our pronouns are USA and MAGA.” (Dimmock listed a Missouri driver’s license as his identification in his filing, per NBC News.)
In October, eight House Republicans, including ringleader Gaetz, joined Democrats in voting for a motion to vacate McCarthy's speakership. His ouster set off havoc among the House GOP as it scrambled for weeks to elect another speaker.
As NBC reported, four of the six House Republicans who voted for McCarthy's ouster and who are also up for re-election are now facing a primary fight: Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Bob Good of Virginia, Eli Crane of Arizona, and Gaetz. All four currently represent reliably red districts, so whoever wins the respective Republican primaries are likely to carry the general election.
Gaetz and McCarthy have made no secret of their mutual disdain for each other. And despite having retired from Congress in December, McCarthy has not let up on criticizing Gaetz.
At a public forum in Georgetown University just weeks ago, McCarthy delivered his most direct attack on Gaetz yet as he appeared to say that the Florida Republican ousted him "to stop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17-year-old." Gaetz has repeatedly denied the allegation, and the Justice Department closed an investigation early last year without filing charges.