Staff Reports
Mark Lombardo is ramping up his attacks on U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz as the Aug. 23 Republican Primary Election in Florida’s 1st Congressional District draws closer.
Lombardo’s campaign released a digital ad to run on Facebook and other social media platforms mocking Gaetz for missing 200 votes since serving in Congress.
The ad features a photo of Gaetz in sunglasses with a graphic of a fake medal from the “Professional Politicians Association” for 200 missed votes.
“Only in the world of professional politicians like Matt Gaetz is it acceptable to miss work and collect nearly one million dollars from taxpayers as salary,” Lombardo said in a statement. “Matt Gaetz wants the people of Northwest Florida to keep him ‘fighting’ — but it’s impossible to win a fight if you don’t show up for the match.”
Lombardo, who calls himself a “Conservative political outsider,” also took aim at Gaetz for traveling to the Bahamas and mentioned Gaetz being investigated for sex trafficking a minor.
He went on to call Gaetz a “hypocrite” and “pathological liar” and vowed to introduce the “Gaetz Bill” in Congress, which he said would penalize members for missing votes.
Lombardo entered the race in June, vowing to spend $1 million of his own money on his campaign. The Marine Corps veteran and former FedEx executive is primed to go head-to-head with Gaetz after Republican Bryan Jones dropped out of the race last week.
Cutting pay for lawmakers who miss votes was part of a five-point plan to reform Washington Lombardo released last week. He also said he would introduce legislation to enact six-year term limits and ban members of Congress from becoming lobbyists after leaving office.
Gaetz has been a controversial and polarizing figure in Congress since taking office in 2017. His name has repeatedly come up in the Jan. 6 hearings. He has denied testimony suggesting he sought a preemptive pardon for his role in former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election.
The Gaetz campaign has not responded to a request for comment.
