Former Representative Matt Gaetz, who resigned as President-elect Donald J. Trump’s nominee for attorney general before the release of a House Ethics panel report accusing him of “regularly paying” for sex and drug use, said he is “starting to think about running for governor” next year in Florida.
The competition for an open seat in the country accepted by Mr. Trump is expected to attract great interest next year, as Gov. Ron DeSantis, elected in 2018 and 2022, is term-limited.
“I have a positive view of the state,” Mr. Gaetz, a right-wing activist, told the Tampa Bay Times in a report published Tuesday.
In a telephone interview with the New York Times on Wednesday, Mr. Gaetz said he spoke with Mr. Trump about a possible presidential bid and that “you know I have that desire.” He refused to elaborate on their conversation, except that the president-elect gave him advice and that he expected other allies of Mr.
Requests for comment were also left for Mr.
Mr. Gaetz, 42, went for a fifth term in his safe Republican House seat in Florida on November 5. But he resigned on November 13, shortly after Mr. circuit the release of the report of the Ethics Committee which concluded that he had engaged in sexual misconduct and consumed illegal drugs, allegations he denied.
He also filed an 11th-hour lawsuit in federal court trying to stop the release of the report, but those efforts failed.
The team found that at least from 2017 to 2020, Mr. Gaetz “always paid women to have sex with him.” The report says that in 2017, Mr. Gaetz “had sex with a 17-year-old girl,” who was paid.
From 2017 to 2019, the report said, Mr. Gaetz used or possessed illegal drugs, including cocaine and Ecstasy “on numerous occasions,” and accepted lavish gifts, including travel to the Bahamas, in excess of the legal limit.
Asked on Wednesday if he believes the report of the Ethics Committee will hurt him in the race for governorship, Mr. Gaetz scoffed at the idea.
“I’ve been carrying around that lie for years,” he said.
After resigning as appointed Mr. Trump for the position of attorney general of the United States – a major setback for the president-elect during the transition – Mr. Gaetz was hired as the host of the flagship weekly program on the One America News Network.
In his words to the Tampa Bay Times, Mr. Gaetz suggested he could help shore up the insurance crisis that has gripped Florida, one that was exacerbated by Hurricanes Helene and Milton and has lashed out at both the industry and those who rely on its coverage.
“I understand how to fix the insurance problem, it’s not about handing over the keys to the insurance industry,” he said. “If I run, I will be the most pro-consumer on the Republican side.”
The paleness of Mr. Gaetz’s desire for the governor’s office happened a few days after the swearing-in of members of the 119th Congress on Capitol Hill, where Mr.
The governor’s race in Florida, once a hotbed of battle that has always tilted Republican, is one of the high-profile contests on the 2026 election calendar.
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