The GOP candidate for Congress in Florida is a full-time employee in Missouri

by Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix

Aaron Dimmock, the underdog Republican running against Matt Gaetz next month in the Republican primary for Florida’s 1st Congressional District in the Panhandle, is running in what can only be described as an unusual race.

Dimmock, a retired Navy officer, heads the Missouri Leadership Academy in St. Louis, about 700 miles from Pensacola, the heart of the congressional district. It is legal for him to do so under a 2020 change in Missouri law, according to an official with the Missouri Office of Administration.

“I kind of jumped in because no one else was going to,” Dimmock told the Phoenix in a phone interview earlier this week. “It’s not easy to run against someone who’s been in politics for 15 years as a first-time candidate. It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. So I kept an eye on (the race) until April and saw that no one else had run locally at the state or local level, so I felt compelled.”

Dimmock filed for Congress against Gaetz on April 26, the very last day to be eligible to run for federal office in Florida. He listed a Pensacola address on his application, but used his Missouri driver’s license as identification. The primary is scheduled for August 20.

He says there have been “some times” since he entered the race where he returns to Missouri “when it’s warranted” and has been able to work remotely full-time.

“That’s the way I’ve been able to operate and that’s the way I’ll continue to operate,” he said. “And we’re hopeful for the primaries and being able to continue to divide my schedule as necessary to be able to do what I need to do to meet my obligations there.”

State records show that Dimmock, while campaigning in the district for as long as he can, is still being paid as a full-time employee as a special assistant. He was last paid $4,86.46 on July 15 and has earned $57,023.98 so far in 2024.

According to his LinkedIn page, Dimmock began serving as director of the Missouri Leadership Academy in January 2021 and still lists it as his employer. A webpage for SHRM of Greater St. Louis, an organization for human resources professionals, shows he was scheduled to speak at an event last month.

The Phoenix reached out to Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s office to ask if he would be okay with a state employee campaigning for a congressional seat in another state. He did not respond to requests for comment this week, but told KMOV-TV last week that “we want to make sure people are doing their jobs. I’m not a big fan of remote work. I never have been.”

“I can’t say he’s doing much of an active campaign other than running expensive ads that really attack his opponent,” said John Roberts, chairman of the Escambia County Republican Executive Committee. “He’s not known in the district at all.”

McCarthy’s Revenge

Dimmock’s campaign appears to be largely based on expensive and aggressive ads attacking Gaetz. These ads were paid for by the Florida Patriots PAC, whose chief adviser is Brian O. Walsh, a close ally of former Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

McCarthy and Gaetz have had a combative relationship. Gaetz is one of eight Republicans in the House of Representatives who voted to remove McCarthy from his post as Speaker of the House a year ago, and McCarthy has not been shy about saying he would devote resources this year to doing his best to remove those eight Republicans from office.

Their animosity was on display last week at the Republican Party convention in Milwaukee, when Gaetz confronted McCarthy at the Fiserv Forum.

A poll released last week showed Gaetz leading Dimmock in the race, 67% to 20%.

Florida Phoenix is ​​part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline with questions at [email protected]. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and X.

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