by Samantha Serbin
Wed, April 2nd 2025 at 8:35 PM
Updated Wed, April 2nd 2025 at 10:17 PM
WEAR
PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla. — Gay Valimont spoke proudly following her loss to Jimmy Patronis Tuesday night in the special election for Florida’s 1st Congressional District seat.
Valimont ultimately came up short, finishing with 42% of the votes. Patronis finished with 57%.
With Tuesday’s result, a democrat still hasn’t won the District 1 seat since 1992.
Valimont garnered more votes in Escambia County than Patronis — 37,638 to his 35,638.
“This district is made up of a lot of different people who love each other — and it’s not their idea of what it is,” Valimont said Tuesday night. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m gonna make it better. We have started something here, we are gonna finish it — not today, but we’re leaving $1.7 million dollars behind in our bank account. We are going to donate $25,000 to each Democratic Executive Committee, each county, so that each county can have their own spot so that we can build wealth in our beliefs. I’m not disappointed — we rocked it! Thank you so much.”
Valimont raised more than $6 million during her campaign.
She also lost to Matt Gaetz in last November’s general election, although in that race she gained only 34% of the vote.
Watch her full concession speech here:
