Democrats have outspent Republicans six to one in the special election for Florida’s 1st Congressional District, Trump-endorsed candidate Jimmy Patronis said during an interview on Breitbart News Daily on Monday, the day of the big race.
Host Mike Slater pointed out that Democrats in the other Florida special election district — District 6, to replace National Security Adviser Mike Waltz — have outspent Republicans ten to one. Patronis, who is vying for former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) old seat, said it is a similar situation in his own district.
“My opponent is outspending me six to one. You know, the Democrats have nowhere else to spend their money,” Patronis, who up until this point served as Florida’s chief financial officer, said.
“My opponent has raised $7 million,” he said of Democrat Gay Valimont. “You cannot turn on the TV without seeing her ads. You know, we were not able to keep up with the yard sign war, some of these other things. I mean, they even bought TV in markets outside of the area just to have a little bit of bleed-over — that how much money they had.”
“And all they could do is try to burn me down the whole entire time. But, you know, I’m born and raised in this part of the state. I’ve lived in the Central Time Zone my entire life. You know, these people are my people, and vice versa,” he said, contrasting himself with his opponent.
“She’s an outsider who just doesn’t get how Northwest Florida people roll. So, you know, look, I definitely get nervous when somebody outspends you. Like, I’ve never been outspent in a race before, but thank goodness at least what we’re seeing in turnout, Republicans are really voting early,” Patronis said.
While he said Gaetz was a “freak of nature” and “firebrand” in that he had a very high profile in his district and across the country, Patronis still hopes for a sizable victory in terms of margins.
“I don’t know if I’ll get mad numbers, but, you know, I’ll get numbers big enough, at least in my opinion, where they’ll think twice about setting $7 million on fire again,” Patronis added, laying out where his district lies for those who may be unsure whether they are part of it.
“So if you’re in Escambia County, which borders Alabama, right there, the Mobile, Foley, Pensacola lines right there. It’ll go from the edge of the state line all the way to what’s called Highway 331, that ends in about the you know, Rosemary Beach … seaside area. Some of those are places your viewers are familiar with,” he added.
Breitbart News Daily airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Eastern.
