Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s allies have spent tens of millions dollars during this year’s primary cycle to unseat Republicans that voted to oust him last October, but they only managed to boot one lawmaker.
Of the eight Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy — including Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Ken Buck of Colorado, Eli Crane of Arizona, Matt Rosendale of Montana and Bob Good of Virginia — Good was the only representative to be unseated by a narrow 400 vote margin. McCarthy’s well funded revenge tour is now coming to a close as Gaetz, who initially filed the motion to vacate the former speaker, is poised to win his primary against challenger Aaron Dimmock on Tuesday.
“Kevin spent $3 million and all he has to show for it is a memo and a stack of cancelled checks,” Gaetz told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We hope he continues listening to those who told him Aaron Dimmock was viable. Floridians will teach the California former Speaker a lesson Tuesday. And another in 2026 if he likes.”
A McCarthy linked PAC reportedly spent over $3 million against Gaetz, but the incumbent remains confident that his reelection bid will be won in a landslide.
“I’ve never been outspent before in my political career, and in this race I’ll be outspent more than 3-to-1,” Gaetz told Politico. “But I’m going to win it better than 2-to-1 because the folks in Washington and California and Missouri don’t quite understand the connection that I have with the people of northwest Florida and how durable it is.”
The Gaetz-McCarthy feud came to a head in September when the Florida firebrand criticized the then-speaker for failing to pass all twelve single-subject appropriations bills before the Oct. 1 funding deadline and threatened to file a motion to vacate the chair. In response to the list of demands Gaetz presented, McCarthy told his colleagues to “file the fucking motion.”
“The thing we have in common? Kevin McCarthy said something to all of us at one point or another that he didn’t really mean and never intended to live up to,” Gaetz said on the floor before the vote to vacate the speakership.
Gaetz has previously been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee under McCarthy’s direction regarding allegations of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and other various accusations.
“Look, you all know Matt Gaetz,” McCarthy said during a press conference after he was ousted. “You know it was personal. It had nothing to do about spending. And regardless of what you think, I have seen the texts. It was all about his ethics.”
Gaetz has categorically denied all the allegations before the committee.
The odds were stacked against Good, whose challenger and now Republican nominee John McGuire was endorsed by both McCarthy and former President Donald Trump. In addition to getting on McCarthy’s bad side, Good managed to upset the former president by initially supporting Republican Gov. Ron Desantis of Florida during the presidential primary.
Although pro-Good groups spent nearly $5.5 million on ads during his primary bid, McGuire’s allies outspent the controversial incumbent by about $2 million, according to Politico. Of the $7.5 million reportedly spent on the Trump-endorsed candidate, $6.9 million came from groups tied to McCarthy.
McCarthy has also reportedly been behind Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia’s attempted ousting of Speaker Mike Johnson in May, according to Axios. The motion to vacate Johnson’s speakership, which Greene filed in March, ultimately failed in a 359-43 vote, with just 10 Republicans backing the Georgia representative.
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