Matt Gaetz Is Fighting a Battle Over the Future Identity of the GOP: NPR

During a brief rally in Niceville, Florida, Representative Matt Gaetz had some news.

“I got a call from President Trump,” said Gaetz, who is running for reelection. “He said Matt, we need to get ready for these debates, be at Mar-a-Lago.”

Former President Donald Trump is a very important person to the people of the Florida Panhandle, and Gaetz’s relationship with the party’s nominee is a major selling point in this primary race.

The state’s 1st Congressional District is one of the reddest in the country. And the Republican primary has become the epicenter of a battle for who controls the party’s brand. Gaetz is facing off against a primary opponent backed by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in an ongoing feud in which both sides say the GOP’s future is at stake.

Gaetz, who has raised more than $5 million this election cycle, is running for a landslide boost from voters on Tuesday’s primary. Polls have shown him with a decisive lead in the race, but he faces a well-funded moderate Republican.

This opponent, retired Navy pilot Aaron Dimmock, is supported by McCarthy and his allies.

“I’ve usually had a resource advantage when I run,” Gaetz told NPR. “I’m going to be outspent 3 or 4 to 1 in this race because Kevin McCarthy has mobilized millions of dollars that he had in his political committees to run ads against me.”

McCarthy and his allies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A personal feud persists

Polls show Gaetz holding a potentially decisive lead in the race. But McCarthy’s spending hasn’t dropped.

McCarthy accuses Gaetz of losing the House speakership because he failed to block a House Ethics Committee investigation into sex trafficking and drug allegations.

Gaetz has denied the allegations and said a related FBI investigation, launched in 2020, was closed without charges being filed against him.

However, the congressional ethics investigation and feud continues to this day.

In July, the two clashed during a CNN interview with McCarthy at the Republican National Convention.

“One person who raised this issue has an ethical complaint for … sleeping with a 17-year-old,” McCarthy told CNN when asked about the fractures in the Republican Party. “So that’s the biggest challenge we have.”

Gaetz was seen trying to interrupt the interview, telling McCarthy, “If you had come up on stage, you would have been booed and kicked out” at the convention, he interrupted.

A fight for the needs of a district

For Dimmock, the race to unseat the four-term incumbent is about convincing voters that these public fights are more than just a spectacle.

During a visit to a Pensacola bar, Dimmock tells NPR that Gaetz has neglected his district.

“The fact that he spends so much time away from the district is pretty telling,” she said.

Dimmock says his supporters agree.

So far, Dimmock’s campaign has received more than $3 million in support from Freedom Patriots PAC, which is closely affiliated with McCarthy allies. The political committee has pulled ads that highlighted sex and drug allegations and more.

Douglas Weber, senior researcher for the nonpartisan, nonprofit group OpenSecrets, said overall spending is balanced in the race thanks to Freedom Patriots’ support for Dimmock.

“Gaetz still spent a lot,” totaling more than $4.9 million as a candidate, Weber said.

Political committees for sitting Republican members of Congress, such as Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin and Ohio Reps. Dave Joyce and Max Miller, also donated to Dimmock’s campaign.

Dimmock argues he is getting significant support because Gaetz has failed to deliver on his promises for Florida’s 1st Congressional District.

“He’s more nationally focused, more self-promotion, more self-interest, getting himself noticed and doing these things that literally have nothing to do with our district,” Dimmock said.

Those “things” include endorsing challengers to his GOP colleagues and even campaigning in Texas against Republican incumbent Tony Gonzales.

Gonzales narrowly defeated his primary opponent, but Gaetz says that even if the race doesn’t go his way, his voters will embrace his brand.

That is, bringing the Republican Party closer to its base, through him.

“I hope to reshape the House in my image,” he said.

This is a task usually left to party leaders and illustrates the broader struggle for control of the party.

Legislative Impacts Beyond the Personality Struggle

This fight derailed Republican ambitions, who no longer passed partisan spending bills in the GOP-led House, but preferred to send a unified electoral message across the country.

Republican strategist Doug Heye argues that the collapse of a smaller share of the party, while likely to attract outsized attention, could also create headaches.

“If you’re the speaker of the House, you definitely want everyone to be on the same page and anything that goes against that makes your job that much more difficult every day,” he said.

At the Niceville rally, Gaetz’s campaign is more of a family affair. His father, Don, a former member of the Florida Legislature, is running again for the state Senate.

Don Gaetz is part of a larger group of supporters of his son’s campaign, which includes several Republicans in Congress.

Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Chip Roy of Texas and Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, along with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, have entered the district, with more members expected before the Aug. 20 election date.

When asked, Gaetz says he doesn’t know if his bad blood with McCarthy will ever end. However, he is optimistic that McCarthy will regret getting involved in this race.

“I would suggest that therapy is cheaper. You know, he should have just invested that money in some self-help,” she said. “But working through your demons, losing the election by a wide margin seems strange to me.”