Matt Gaetz faces a Kevin McCarthy-backed challenge from Aaron Dimmock

Matt Gaetz, Aaron Dimmock.

Throughout his congressional tenure, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz vexed leadership. But an ouster of a sitting House Speaker brought conflict to a new level.

Now, the Kevin McCarthy empire wants to strike back. A Republican Primary challenger, Aaron Dimmock, emerged against Gaetz on the last day of Florida’s federal qualifying period. His paperwork immediately showed he relied on campaign professionals who worked with McCarthy, and the former Speaker confirmed to POLITICO that he helped vet the candidate.

Through the end of July, Dimmock spent nearly $190,000 introducing himself to voters in Florida’s 1st Congressional District and hammering Gaetz over his personal scandals, as McCarthy continued to lambaste Gaetz at every opportunity. But Gaetz this election cycle has spent nearly 25 times that amount, responding with attacks on his own, painting Dimmock as an out-of-towner out of touch with Florida Panhandle values.

He seized quickly both on Dimmock’s ties to the state of Missouri — Dimmock still works remotely full-time for the state’s Office of Administration — and for his background providing instruction on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

“Even people in Missouri don’t really understand what DEI Dimmock is doing LARPing in FL-01 as a congressional candidate,” Gaetz posted on X.

Gaetz quickly purchased internet domains with his opponent’s name and dubbed him DEI Dimmock, photoshopping an image of the veteran that replaces an American flag with a Black Lives Matter one.

As early voting started, meanwhile, Dimmock has canvassed through the district. He has appeared in a number of campaign videos with his mother, who lives in the district. Throughout, he’s attacked Gaetz as an embarrassment to the voters and someone whose lifestyle doesn’t align with the area’s conservative politics.

Repeatedly, Dimmock has raised a federal sex trafficking investigation of Gaetz that launched in 2021 but ultimately resulted in no charges, though a House Ethics Committee announced in June it will continue its own investigation into alleged sexual misconduct and drug use.

“This race is not about me. It’s about our families in the first district of Florida who are struggling,” Dimmock said. “To get our economy back on track, we need more serious representation in Congress.”

McCarthy has also continued to throw jabs at Gaetz in the national press. Their conflict was on full display at the Republican National Convention. Gaetz enjoyed a prime time speaking slot, where he touted political ally Donald Trump as “unstoppable” in November. But more ink would be spilled on an interaction with the Congressman shouting from off-camera during a CNN interview with McCarthy.

“What night are you speaking? Are you speaking tonight?” Gaetz shouted at McCarthy, who had no speaking spot. McCarthy then started discussing the Gaetz investigation. “One person wanted me to stop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17-year-old,” he said on camera.

But it remains unclear whether voters in Gaetz’s home district have ever been overly concerned with personal scandals. Gaetz notably has married since the allegations surfaced and worked to shed a playboy image. Even before that, Republican leaders stood by Gaetz through the federal investigation and rumors Republicans might expel him after the McCarthy ouster.

In July, Trump’s top pollster in July released survey results showing 67% of likely Primary voters ready to re-elect Gaetz.

For what it’s worth, the Panhandle isn’t the first place McCarthy sought out retribution against the handful of Republicans who voted to remove him as House Speaker.

He’s seen mixed results. He backed a challenger, John McGuire, to U.S. Rep. Bob Good in Virginia. McGuire narrowly defeated the House Freedom Caucus Chair in a Republican Primary. But U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace survived a Republican Primary challenge backed by McCarthy in June.

The winner of the Republican Primary in CD 1 will advance to face Democrat Gay Valimont in November. But the district is arguably the safest Republican stronghold in Florida — more than 65% of voters in CD 1 supported Trump in the 2020 Presidential Election — so the winner of the GOP Primary will likely represent Panhandle voters in Congress next year.