Florida Chief Financial Officer and U.S. Congressional District 1 (Pensacola) hopeful Jimmy Patronis (R) answered questions during a recent public forum. During the event, CFO Patronis was asked about his knowledge of the area compared to his potential predecessor, former Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
Patronis responded by saying that he's a "son of Northwest Florida."
With all the news on @mattgaetz’s future endeavors, I got a question about him at yesterday’s forum…
My answer?
Video ⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/jtIQrAOPCe
— Jimmy Patronis (@JimmyPatronis) January 9, 2025
"First off, I'm not a politician. I'm a public servant. I'm a representative. I'm a son of Northwest Florida," Patronis began. "And let me tell you something, the values of Northwest Florida do not exist in Orlando, they do not exist in Tampa, they do not exist in Miami. I've been to those places, this place is different. Hell, they don't even know we have a central time zone."
Patronis continued by saying that Northwest Florida has a different approach to life compared to its southern counterparts, and that is a good thing.
"When I go and do my job all over the state, they don't know we have two different seasons in the state. Right now, prosperity is taking place in Fort Myers and in Tampa and in West Palm [Beach]; that's where all the tourists are," said Patronis. "They don't understand that this place is quiet right now. And it's kind of nice that it's quiet right now, because it gives our communities, a little bit of chance to catch a little bit of breath. It gives us a chance to spend some time with our family."
Furthermore, Patronis spoke on former Rep. Gaetz's understanding of the region as well as his own.
"Matt got it. What I appreciate about Matt, he was the right guy at the right time to demand accountability from the Congress that was taking place. I don't think President Trump would have asked Matt to be the Attorney General for the United States of America if he didn't have the type of fire in the belly that President Trump needed to reform the Department of Justice ... I just still want to remind people that there is more. I tell people all the time, we're not one state, we're about five different countries. We truly are, and if there's one thing that I know, I know Northwest Florida," concluded Patronis.
The Florida CFO received President-elect Donald Trump's coveted endorsement in November.
