“In every single election, Republicans should be scared” and not become complacent, Jimmy Patronis, the Trump-backed Republican candidate in Florida’s 1st Congressional District, told Breitbart News Daily on election day.
Patronis, who is vying for former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) seat, said that “Republicans should be scared” in each election.
“I mean, we have got to earn the trust of the public. We just had the worst four years we’ve had in our nation’s history. And at the end of the day, you’ve got those educated voters that look at which party’s in power, and then you got that voter out there that just is frustrated with government in general,” he explained.
“And that’s why, you know, I love — if you look at what Elon Musk is exposing, he is bringing to light transparency — I’m a big transparency guy — and a lot of these expenditures that happen, look, there’s probably just as much of a liability as Republicans with Democrats on these issues,” Patronis said. “So you know, let’s bring it all to light. Let’s force these crazy expenditures, these weird policies, these ideas that need to be in full disclosure, and let’s see if these guys still have the stomach to vote for them at the end of the day.”
Patronis also said his opponent, Democrat Gay Valimont, is attempting to use “scare tactics” such as fearmongering about DOGE or cuts that were never outlined by President Donald Trump.
“There’s nothing that the president ever said about making any changes to Medicaid or Medicare or Social Security. I mean, these are just inflammatory words, they are doing this click bait, you know. I think there’s probably, you know, those in government, because, remember, I’ve got a lot of military installations, a district that once they receive their email from Elon, for, you know, tell me what you’re doing, or tell me how you spend your day … that probably created some anxiety,” he said.
“Look, our government is not Republican or Democrat or independent. It’s a plan, it’s a melting pot. So just as much as we’ve got Democrats that work for our military and studies, you got Republicans, you got independents, you got nonpartisan, so again, you know, I still think at the end of the day, people do like fiscal health. They do like their dollars being spent wisely,” he said, emphasizing that he is a huge believer in accountability.
Patronis also walked through his phone call with President Trump.
“The president called me the day before my 20th wedding anniversary, and you know, he was — he was in rare form, and he was talking a lot of trash, and we had a good, a good visit,” he said.
“And I’ve met him about a dozen times. I don’t know how well he knows me, but you know he knows my track record. He knows that Jimmy’s a workhorse, not a show horse,” the congressional hopeful continued, noting that his paths have crossed with other members of the Trump administration, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“I’m really excited to see, you know, what we’ve done in Florida, with so much Florida talent now going to Washington to turn our country around,” he added.
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Breitbart · Jimmy Patronis – April 1, 2025Breitbart News Daily airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Eastern.
