“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as Florida’s CFO for nearly eight years,” Patronis wrote. The developments came hours after President-elect Trump publicly urged Patronis to run in the special election for the House seat. “As your ...

Florida State Sen. Randy Fine says he'll run for the U.S. House seat in April 1 special election.

President-elect Donald Trump has endorsed Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis to replace Matt Gaetz in the US House of Representatives. Gaetz stepped down from his seat in the House earlier this month after Trump nominated him to lead the Department of Justice.

While the field of Republicans vying to succeed Matt Gaetz in Florida’s 1st Congressional District grew Monday, that race might effectively be over now that President-elect Donald Trump has endorsed Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis in the contest.

Jimmy Patronis, who has said he is mulling a bid for the political post, has been a staunch Trump loyalist and previously backed legislation to allocate up to $5 million in Florida taxpayer dollars to support the president-elect's legal bills.

Donald Trump made a preemptive endorsement in the special election to replace Matt Gaetz in Congress. The Florida Republican resigned his House seat immediately after Trump nominated him as attorney general,