Former Representative Matt Gaetz, who withdrew as President-elect Donald J. Trump’s nominee for attorney general ahead of the release of a House Ethics panel report that accused him of “regularly” paying for sex and using drugs, said that he was “starting to think about running for governor” next year in Florida.
The contest for the open seat in Mr. Trump’s adopted home state is expected to draw significant interest next year, as Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was elected in 2018 and 2022, is term-limited.
“I have a compelling vision for the state,” Mr. Gaetz, a far-right provocateur, told the Tampa Bay Times in an interview that was published on Tuesday. Mr. Gaetz did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. Requests for comment were also left for Mr. Trump’s aides.
Mr. Gaetz, 42, cruised to a fifth term in his safely Republican House district on Florida’s panhandle on Nov. 5. But he resigned his seat shortly after Mr. Trump chose him for attorney general, trying to short-circuit the release of an Ethics Committee report about sexual misconduct and illicit drug use allegations against him, allegations that he has denied.
He also filed an 11th-hour lawsuit in federal court in an attempt to stop the report’s release, but that effort failed.
The panel found that from at least 2017 to 2020, Mr. Gaetz “regularly paid women for engaging in sexual activity with him.” The report said that in 2017, Mr. Gaetz had “engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old girl,” who was paid.
From 2017 to 2019, the report said, Mr. Gaetz used or possessed illegal drugs, including cocaine and Ecstasy “on multiple occasions,” and accepted lavish gifts, including transportation to and lodging in the Bahamas, in excess of permissible amounts.
He landed a prime-time show on the far-right One America News Network after dropping out of consideration for attorney general.
In his remarks to the Tampa Bay Times, Mr. Gaetz suggested that he could help stabilize an insurance crisis that has been gripping Florida, one that was exacerbated by Hurricanes Helene and Milton and that roiled both the industry and those who rely on its coverage.
“I understand how to fix the insurance problem, and it’s not to hand the keys to the state over to the insurance industry,” he said. “If I run, I would be the most pro-consumer candidate on the Republican side.”
Mr. Gaetz’s floating of his interest in the governor’s office came just days after members of 119th Congress were sworn-in on Capitol Hill, where Mr. Gaetz was known for his bare-knuckles political style in trying to advance Mr. Trump’s agenda.
The governor’s race in Florida, once a battleground state that has been tilting toward Republicans, is one of the high-profile contests on the election calendar in 2026.
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