Matt Gaetz Wins 3rd Term in Florida’s 1st Congressional District

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) (C), House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) (L), and other Republican House members in the Capitol Visitor Center on Oct. 23, 2019. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Rep. Matt Gaetz defeated Democratic challenger Phil Ehr on Tuesday night, securing his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives for Florida’s 1st Congressional District.

The Associated Press called the race at 8:11 p.m. EST.

Gaetz won 64.4 percent of the votes compared to his opponent Ehr, who gained 34.4 percent of the vote at around 63 percent reporting in.

Ehr pitched himself against Gaetz a war hero and a patriot in the hope to oust the incumbent, but was unable to do so despite raising and spending over $1 million on his campaign.

Gaetz thanked his supporters in a video posted to Twitter, saying that it was “special” to win the election and to receive a “positive performance review” from the voters.

“To win it by an overwhelming margin, when my opponent raised over $1.6 million, and we didn’t run a single ad. We just put our trust in the people,” he said.

This will be Gaetz’s third term as the representative for the district.

In the 116th Congress, Gaetz served as a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. He focused his congressional work on national security, veterans’ affairs, and adherence to constitutional principles, according to his website.

He was also a vocal lawmaker who defended President Donald Trump during the impeachment inquiry last year.