Matt Gaetz: ‘I am starting to think about running for governor’
The conservative firebrand is now out of Congress and he’s weighing up his next move.
Matt Gaetz, a former U.S. Representative turned conservative cable host may not be finished with politics.
The Tampa Bay Times reported that Gaetz told them he was “starting to consider running for governor in 2026” after a report by the congressional committee on allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
What are Gaetz’s top policy concerns? Insurance crisis.
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Gaetz stated, “I have an inspiring vision for the state.” “I know how to solve the insurance issue, and that’s not by handing the keys of the state to the insurance industry. “If I ran, I would be most pro-consumer Republican candidate.”
Gaetz, who has 22 months until the next election, said that he needed more time to consider whether he should run for Florida’s highest office, and to talk with his wife Ginger about it.
Gaetz’s openness in considering a run for office is still noteworthy.
He is popular among MAGA supporters. He is a Republican who stands out for his support of economic populism, cannabis legalization and personal scandals.
He is also considered one of the worst Republicans by Democrats in the United States. Nikki Fried, Florida Democratic Party Chairperson at the time Gaetz was nominated by Trump to be Attorney General, called him a “chaos-agent who is only interested in his personal power.”
Gaetz’s possible run for governor has been rumored for some time.
Gaetz, a former state representative from the Panhandle who was elected to Congress for the first time in 2016, has few friends in Washington. Not even in his own party. The House Ethics Committee released a damning report in the final days before his term ended. It found “substantial” evidence that Gaetz had used illegal drugs, accepted gifts that exceeded the allowable limit, paid women for sexual services and had sex during his time as a member of Congress.
Gaetz was investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice for sex-trafficking, but he ultimately decided not to be charged in 2023.
It is almost certain that the rumors about the ethics report sank his nomination as U.S. Attorney General by President-elect Donald Trump. Gaetz posted on X in November that he was withdrawing his nomination for Attorney General because it “was unfairly distracting from the critical work of Trump/Vance Transition.”
Gaetz, however, said that he does not see the findings of the investigation as an obstacle to a possible run for governor.
He said, “These lies have been spread about me over the years.” “They have never affected my ability win elections.”
Trump, the Republican leader of the party, didn’t seem bothered by Gaetz’s alleged shortcomings. When Trump chose Gaetz as his attorney-general, a lot of the report’s contents were either well known or subject to a great deal of rumor.
Gaetz resigned from his U.S. House Seat after Trump’s nomination. He hosts a show on cable network One America News.
It’s still unclear who will join Gaetz in the Republican ranks if he runs. Gov. Ron DeSantis’ term is limited.
Rumors have circulated that U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds and Florida Attorney-General Ashley Moody are considering running for the Republican nomination. (Moody has also been widely viewed as DeSantis’ top choice to replace Marco Rubio in Senate.
Gaetz said that he would consider the Republican primary to be the decisive race in the fight for Florida’s leadership in 2026.
Some Floridians — i.e. Gaetz stated that Democrats are not able to win statewide elections.
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