Jacob Ogles
Florida congressional candidate Aaron Dimmock could soon be in trouble with his employer, the state of Missouri.
The Pensacola Republican has faced accusations of carpetbagging from U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Fort Walton Republican he aims to unseat in an upcoming Republican Primary. But now, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, is fielding questions about why Dimmock still holds a job with the Missouri Office of Administration.
“I just got the news on that yesterday, but we want to make sure people are doing their jobs. I’m not a big fan of remote work. I never have been,” Parson told KMOV First Alert 4, a Missouri news station.
Those comments came after the St. Louis Dispatch released its own report on Dimmock running in Florida while earning a six-figure annual salary in Missouri. Dimmock told the outlet he worked remotely. Officials told the outlet Dimmock would need to resign his post if he won a seat in Congress.
Missouri records show Dimmock has earned $57,000 year-to-date from the Missouri agency this year. Federal law requires members of Congress to live in the state they represent. Missouri law forbids state employees from seeking partisan elected office.
The controversy unfolds in the Show Me State as Gaetz’s campaign buys cable and broadcast time for a new TV ad attacking Dimmock over his residency. The ad debuted Wednesday.
“Dimmock lives in Missouri. Dimmock signed a residency pledge in Missouri this year. Then he used a Missouri driver’s license to run for office here,” a narrator states.
Images show property records filed in St. Louis County verifying his residency and Florida Division of Elections records showing he used a Missouri license to verify his identity.
The ad also attacks Dimmock’s previous work providing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) courses.
“Dimmock teaches radical liberal ideology to DEI groups in Missouri and even gets paid by the Missouri government while running for office,” the ad continues. “Even Missouri’s leaders are concerned about what’s going on.”
Last week, U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison, a Missouri Republican, criticized Dimmock for holding a government job in Missouri while running for office in Florida.
“If Dimmock is still employed by MO government, Mike Parson should either suspend his position or ask for his resignation,” Burlison posted on X. “And if Aaron Dimmock had any respect for himself or the taxpayers of Missouri he would quit or get out of the race. But I have learned to keep my expectations low for government bureaucrats like Aaron Dimmock.”
Dimmock faces Gaetz in an Aug. 20 Republican Primary in Florida’s 1st Congressional District. The winner will face Democrat Gay Valimont in the General Election.
