In the crowded special election for a vacant House seat in northwest Florida next month, one thing is certain: None of the 10 GOP candidates carry as much baggage as the scandal-plagued former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), a far-right agitator who abruptly resigned from the seat in November amid a wave of scrutiny over allegations of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and corruption.

Gaetz, who denies the allegations, announced he was leaving Congress shortly after President-elect Donald Trump had picked him as his nominee for attorney general, and days before the House Ethics Committee was to release a damaging report about his conduct. He has since withdrawn his bid to lead the Justice Department.

In the meantime, voters in the 1st Congressional District, which covers the state’s western Panhandle and includes Pensacola, are expected to choose their next representative in the GOP primary set for Jan. 28, owing to a heavily conservative makeup. The general election will be held at the beginning of April.

While the primary has drawn several candidates, strategists agree that the front-runner is Jimmy Patronis, a Republican who recently resigned as Florida’s chief financial officer in order to run for the seat. Even before he had officially entered the contest, Trump offered Patronis his “complete and total endorsement” in an enthusiastic social media post late last month, calling on him to jump into the race. Patronis is also backed by House Republican leadership.

In an interview with Jewish Insider, Patronis, 52, cast himself as a loyal supporter of Trump’s MAGA vision, describing his victory as “a mandate” from voters, including Democrats, “who were tired of the wokeness, the foolishness and the environment that we had allowed our country to degrade into” during the Biden administration.

“I’m excited about rolling my sleeves up and getting to work and supporting the president’s agenda,” he said.

His top priorities, he told JI, include supporting Trump’s tax cuts, advocating for veterans — who represent a sizable constituency in the district — and “protecting our allies in the Middle East, like Israel,” which he called a “democratic bastion of hope” in the region.

In contrast with Gaetz, whose record on Israel and antisemitism has drawn criticism from the Jewish community, Patronis indicated that he would be a more dependable ally on key issues in the House.

He confirmed, for instance, that he would have voted for a major bill to counter rising antisemitic discrimination on college campuses, which Gaetz notably opposed, while touting his efforts backing Israel as a statewide official — such as investing in Israel Bonds and confronting companies engaging in alleged boycotts of the Jewish state.

“When they start to boycott and target Israel, I’m not going to stand for it,” said Patronis, who helped cut ties with companies including Morningstar and Unilever. “The state of Florida has been steadfast with the nation of Israel,” he added. “I look forward to carrying that same type of leadership when I get to Washington.”

If elected to serve in Congress, Patronis, who said he believed that President Joe Biden’s approach to the Middle East created “instability” in the region, pledged to “stand shoulder to shoulder” with Israel — particularly in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks. 

“I totally understand and empathize how angry and passionate and just relentless the Israelis are about trying to create safety for their own people after those heinous attacks,” Patronis, who visited Israel in 2019 on a mission led by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, told JI. “I hope they continue to win and persevere.”

He also voiced support for Trump’s vow to expand the Abraham Accords and return to harsher policies toward Iran, among other Middle East initiatives.

For his part, Gaetz has frequently faced backlash over his statements and positions on antisemitism, most recently when he voted against the bipartisan Antisemitic Awareness Act, which passed the House last May with broad support from both parties. 

The former congressman emerged as one of the most vocal Republican opponents of the legislation, which is aimed at addressing a surge in antisemitic activity on college campuses and remains stalled in the Senate. In comments that drew controversy for invoking a classic antisemitic trope, Gaetz claimed that the definition of antisemitism used by the bill would include the Bible because it “is clear” Jews killed Jesus.

In addition, Gaetz has drawn condemnation for bringing a Holocaust denier as his guest to the State of the Union in 2018 and promoting an antisemitic conspiracy theory used by white nationalists, among other things. Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, recently said that Gaetz has “a long history of trafficking in antisemitism.”

Last April, Gaetz was also among a small group of GOP House members who voted against providing additional aid to Israel amid its war with Hamas in Gaza.

In the interview with JI, Patronis said that he has “zero tolerance” for antisemitism and hate crimes, which have risen across Florida. “I think freedom of speech is an amazing thing, but when you are doing things that incite violence, then I’ve got no use for you anymore,” he said. 

But he appeared to tread cautiously in addressing Gaetz’s history of antisemitic statements. Patronis, who served with Gaetz in the state Legislature, said that he viewed the former congressman as “a fierce fighter for” Trump who “did a strong job of calling out the absurdity of some of our federal agencies.”

Still, Patronis suggested that while he appreciated Gaetz’s role, the “palace intrigue” surrounding his departure from Congress is not a reflection of how he would operate. “I’m a worker bee,” he explained. “I’m looking forward to getting to Washington, D.C., and hustling for the president’s agenda and making a difference up there.”

Regarding Gaetz’s vote against the antisemitism legislation, Patronis said that he had “never heard Matt’s comments” but acknowledged that several of his “Jewish friends had expressed disappointment at those” who opposed the bill last spring. “Matt’s got his lane of why he felt like he needed to vote the way he did,” he told JI. “But in the big picture, the good outweighed the bad,” he added. “If I was there, I’d have voted for it.”

“I’ve been consistent with the positions that we’ve passed in Florida,” Patronis said. “I think that you can look at the track record of what we’ve done here in the state — where we’re not going to tolerate that type of hate speech or treatment on our university campuses.”

Earlier this month, Gaetz appeared to have thrown his support behind Patronis when he posted a video to social media marveling at how the chief financial officer had chosen to relinquish his statewide role to seek federal office under Florida’s resign-to-run law. He later clarified that he had not endorsed Patronis and was instead remarking on how the race “should validate the people of” his district, as he noted in his initial comments. 

The other Republicans now jockeying for the seat include Joel Rudman, a former state lawmaker; Jeff Peacock, a high school math teacher who has served as an advisor to former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY); and three former Gaetz challengers. 

During a recent candidate forum, several candidates went on the offensive against Patronis, attacking his absence from the event, where he delivered opening remarks by phone, and accusing him of failing to fix such issues as homeowners insurance, among other complaints.

In his more than seven years as the chief financial officer, Patronis has faced scrutiny over his alleged involvement in a pay-to-play scheme, which he has denied, and for suggesting that Florida set up a legal defense fund that would use taxpayer money to help pay for Trump’s lawsuits.

Despite his favorable position in the race, Patronis, who recently began airing his first TV and radio ads reminding voters of Trump’ endorsement, sought to downplay expectations while speaking with JI. “I’m more nervous now than I was the first time I ran for office 20 years ago,” he said, describing the race as a “hand-to-hand environment” that is more personal than previous statewide contests. 

“I tell those other candidates, I wish them luck,” he said. “I just hope I have more luck than they do.”

Patronis, who is a partner in a popular seafood restaurant his family owns in Panama City, where he grew up, was appointed to the Florida Elections Commission in 1998 and won election to the state Legislature in 2006 — serving there for eight years. He was later appointed to the Florida Public Service Commission before he ran for chief financial officer, a position he assumed in 2017. He is now mounting his first campaign for federal office.

Calling himself a “problem solver,” Patronis credits his decades of experience working in the restaurant industry in particular with shaping his sensitivity to public service. “I tell my people all the time that, in the restaurant business, if you don’t take care of the customer, somebody else will,” he told JI. “It’s very competitive.”

“When somebody calls me with a problem,” he said, “it’s our job to be responsive to that customer.”