Matt Gaetz believes he can win Florida governorship despite allegations against him

Former MAGA congressman, Donald Trump’s first choice for US attorney general, now considering run to succeed term-limited Ron DeSantis in 2026

Matt Gaetz, the former Florida Republican congressman turned cable news anchor, has revealed he is “starting to think about running for governor” of the Sunshine State in 2026 in place of two-term incumbent Ron DeSantis.

“I have a compelling vision for the state,” Gaetz told The Tampa Bay Times.

“I understand how to fix the insurance problem, and it’s not to hand the keys to the state over to the insurance industry.

“If I run, I would be the most pro-consumer candidate on the Republican side.”

He added that he needs more time to pray on his decision and to discuss it with his wife Ginger Gaetz.

The MAGA favourite was tapped by President-elect Donald Trump on November 13 last year as his nominee to be the next US attorney general and stood down from the House of Representatives in order to lobby senators for the role.

But his resignation came just two days before the House Ethics Committee was due to publish a report summarizing its two-year investigation into a series of allegations against Gaetz concerning sex with underage girls and recreational drug use, accusations that the representative vehemently denied but which immediately dogged his candidacy for the top job at the Justice Department.

Realizing his chances of surviving a hostile Senate confirmation hearing untarnished were slim, Gaetz duly bowed out of the process on November 21 saying his circumstances were becoming “a distraction” and was replaced by Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.

He then accepted a role as a TV presenter with One America News (OAN) instead, taking to the air for the first time last week.

In the interim, the Ethics Committee finally did release its report on December 23, which concluded that there was “substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress”.

Matt Gaetz attending the Young Republican Gala in New York in December (AP)

It emerged Gaetz had sued the panel in a last-ditch attempt to block the report’s publication, accusing it of making an “unconstitutional” attempt to “exercise jurisdiction over a private citizen” by releasing a document “containing potentially defamatory allegations.”

When that failed, he sent out a fundraising appeal to supporters via his new Florida Firebrand PAC that read: “I need your help. I’ve fought for you in Congress for eight years against the worst of the Radical Left and Uniparty.

“Now, they’re seeking their revenge. Can you chip in anything you can spare before midnight to help me defend myself?”

Asked by The Tampa Bay Times whether he believes the report’s findings and the allegations against him could hinder his chances of winning the governor’s mansion, Gaetz answered: “Those lies have been told about me for years.

“They’ve never affected my ability to win elections.”

Should he ultimately run, Gaetz could reportedly face competition from Byron Donalds – another Florida Republican congressman close to the Trump camp – as well as Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson.

Moody though has also been tipped as DeSantis’s choice to replace Marco Rubio in the Senate, assuming the latter is confirmed as Trump’s next secretary of state.

The possibility of Gaetz running for governor was first mooted on X by Florida State Representative Anthony Sabatini in late November, two days after the former had dropped out of the running for attorney general, to which he responded with a GIF of a billowing state flag.