Eight former Senate Presidents endorse Don Gaetz for SD 1

Eight former Senate Presidents are endorsing Republican Don Gaetz’s campaign to return to the Legislature.

The joint endorsement was co-signed by Senate Presidents Jeff Atwater, Bill Galvano, Andy Gardiner, Mike Haridopolos, Tom Lee, Joe Negron, Ken Pruitt and Wilton Simpson, all of whom served terms that overlapped with Gaetz’s tenure in the Legislature. Gaetz served from 2006 through 2016, including a two-year term as Senate President.

“This unqualified, unanimous, wholehearted support by every Senate President he has served with is rare, if not unprecedented,” Galvano said.

Still, his former colleagues effusively praised his work during and after his time representing Northwest Florida in the Senate and said Senate District 1 would be well served if Gaetz returned to Tallahassee.

Atwater, who later became state CFO, said that “against all the odds” Gaetz was able to secure $1.5 billion in Deepwater Horizon settlement money and guided its use to create “thousands of high-paying jobs.” Negron cited Gaetz’s successful effort to stop the replacement for Three-Mile Bridge having a toll.

“Don views every policy debate in Tallahassee based on how the issue affects the daily lives of his constituents. There is no legislator more steadfast and unflinching,” Negron said.

Simpson, who is now Agriculture Commissioner, added, “The path to Florida’s conservative revolution was paved by warriors like Don Gaetz who fought to keep our taxes low, ensure world class education opportunities are available for our children, and guarantee our economy thrives when other states stumbled.”

Gaetz last served in the Senate in 2016, wrapping up a 10-year stint that included two years as Senate President. During that time, he successfully fought a medical marijuana initiative from passing. During his final two years in the Chamber, he helped facilitate a key compromise between the Legislature and then-Gov. Rick Scott to increase education funding.

After his legislative career, Gaetz served on the Constitution Revision Commission and chaired Triumph Gulf Coast, the entity tasked with administering money received in the wake of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill.

Gaetz is running to replace Republican Sen. Doug Broxson, who is term-limited in 2024. He is currently the only candidate in the race, but he has built a formidable war chest should any challenger emerge.