Floridians in the 1st Congressional District will choose their next U.S. representative on April 1. (Photo Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix)
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Friday afternoon that the special election for Matt Gaetz’s former U.S. House seat will take place on April 1.
The announcement came hours after Gaetz announced he wouldn’t return to Congress following his decision Thursday to step away as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general.
Several Republicans have already said they would run for Florida’s 1st Congressional District in the Panhandle, but those who are in office need to resign from their posts by Monday, according to a press release from the Florida Department of State.
Those in the GOP have been eager to jump into the race, which is essentially a guaranteed win for the Republican candidate. The primary is scheduled for Jan. 28, with early voting to start on Jan. 18.
After the announcement that Gaetz would stop pursuing the attorney general post, it was unclear whether his resignation from the 118th Congress applied to the term he won in November. His decision to bow out came amid doubts he could be confirmed because of a House Ethics investigation into alleged payments for sex, including with an underage girl.
“I’m still going to be in the fight, but it’s going to be from a new perch. I do not intend to join the 119th Congress,” Gaetz said Friday in a livestreamed interview on the Charlie Kirk Show.
Republican state Reps. Michelle Salzman and Dr. Joel Rudman are among the six Republicans who have announced plans to run for the seat so far. Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis posted on X on Tuesday that he was strongly considering filing for the election.