Will Kevin McCarthy’s Revenge Tour Defeat His Biggest Enemy?

Last updated: 2024/08/20 at 10:56 PM

You’d be forgiven for not remembering that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is facing a challenger tonight in the Republican primary election in his home state — with the House out on recess and the 2024 presidential campaign season in full swing, Gaetz hasn’t had much room to troll his way into the news in recent weeks (though he did make some headlines with his … stiff appearance during a speech at the RNC last month).

While Gaetz has out-fundraised him, his challenger, Aaron Dimmock, a retired Navy officer, is endorsed by none other than former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) — an alliance that comes with considerable financial muscle. And he’s not exactly tried to hide his financial fingerprints either. Per the Washington Post:

Gaetz has overwhelmed Dimmock in fundraising, raising $5.7 million through July, according to Federal Election Commission records. Dimmock collected a tiny fraction of that but has been helped by Florida Patriots PAC, which has dumped over $3 million into the contest.

Florida Patriots PAC has been entirely funded by America Fund, which is part of a network of groups that have been heavily involved in trying to unseat other House Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy. One of those groups is the American Prosperity Alliance, a nonprofit to which former top McCarthy aide Brian O. Walsh serves as senior adviser.

Gaetz is, of course, one of the House Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy as speaker in 2023. Gaetz was in fact the leader of the pack, filing the motion to vacate the speakership.

Since leaving Congress early this year, McCarthy’s allies have made a point of recruiting Republican challengers to other members of that group; he played a role in the fate that befell Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) when he was defeated by a Trump-backed challenger earlier this summer. Others, like Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), chose not to run for reelection.

It is unclear how tonight’s primary election will go. Gaetz has Trump’s endorsement, has out-raised Dimmock and has weaponized the fact that Dimmock has a background working in diversity training to attack him on the campaign trail. Dimmock’s main line of attack has involved elevating allegations that Gaetz had sex with a minor — the DOJ declined to bring charges against the congressman, but the House Ethics Committee has not yet completed its investigation into the matter, or into other allegations of wrongdoing involving Gaetz.

It’s that very House Ethics panel probe that brings us full circle, to the beginning of the Gaetz-McCarthy feud. McCarthy is convinced that Gaetz’s motion to vacate the speakership had more to do with the fact that McCarthy didn’t shut down the Ethics Committee probe as soon as he became speaker — and less to do with the fact that McCarthy had to compromise with Democrats to keep the government open.