Matthew Louis Gaetz II (/ɡeɪts/ "gates"; born May 7, 1982) is the U.S. Representative for Florida's 1st congressional district since 2017, where he serves on the Budget, Armed Services, and Judiciary Committees. He is a member of the Republican Party. Prior to serving in Congress he was a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 4th District, which includes most of Okaloosa County, from 2010 to 2016. He has also worked as an attorney in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. In 2013, Gaetz announced that in 2016 he would run for the 1st District state senate seat then held by his father, State Senator Don Gaetz, who was due to be term-limited out of the Senate in 2016.[15] On March 21, 2016, Gaetz withdrew from the state race, choosing instead to run for the U.S. House seat representing Florida's 1st congressional district; the incumbent, Jeff Miller, had announced eleven days earlier that he would not seek reelection.
On August 30, 2016, Gaetz won the Republican primary with 35.7% of the vote – defeating Greg Evers (21.5%), Cris Dosev (20.6%), and five other candidates. This effectively clinched the seat, because the 1st District is the most Republican in Florida, and one of the most Republican in the nation. In the November 8, 2016, general election, Gaetz defeated Democratic candidate Steven Specht with 69 percent of the vote.
On September 25, 2016, following the death of Miami Marlins' pitcher José Fernández, Gaetz criticized the athletes protesting during the national anthem in a tweet: "To all who will kneel during the anthem today – just remember how José Fernández risked his life just for the chance to stand for it". Gaetz was listed as a member of the moderate Republican Main Street Partnership from at least January to June 2017.
