FL GOP congressional candidate Aaron Dimmock is a full-time employee in Missouri

Screenshot of Aaron Gimmick recently appearing on Fox News.

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Aaron Dimmock, the underdog Republican challenging Matt Gaetz in Florida’s First Congressional District GOP primary in the Panhandle next month, is running what can only be described as an unusual race.

Dimmock is a retired Navy officer who heads the Missouri Leadership Academy in St. Louis, some 700 miles away from Pensacola, the heart of the congressional district. It is legal for him to do so, as a Missouri state law was changed in 2020, according to an official with the Missouri Office of Administration.

“I actually hopped in because no one else did,” Dimmock told the Phoenix in a phone interview conducted earlier this week. “It’s not easy to go up against someone who’s been in politics for 15 years as a first-time candidate. It was a chance I couldn’t let him go unchallenged. So, I kept an eye [on the race] through April and saw that no one else locally had opted in at the state or local level, so I felt compelled.”

Dimmock filed to run for congress against Gaetz on April 26, the very last day to qualify for federal office in Florida. He lists a Pensacola address in his filing, but he used his Missouri driver’s license as his identification. The primary is set for Aug. 20.

He says that there are “some times” since he entered the race when he returns to Missouri “when it’s warranted” and has been able to work a full-time schedule remotely.

“That’s been the way that I’ve been able to operate and will continue to do so,” he said. “And we’re hopeful for the primary and continue to be able to divide my schedule as needed to be able to do what I need to do to meet my obligations there.”

State records show that while Dimmock may be campaigning in the district while he can, he continues to be paid as a full-time employee as a special assistant. He was last paid $4,86.46 on July 15 and has made $57,023.98 so far during 2024.

According to his LinkedIn page , Dimmock began working as the director of the Missouri Leadership Academy in January 2021, and still lists that as his employer. A web page for SHRM of Greater St. Louis, an organization for human resource professionals, shows that he was scheduled to speak at an event last month .

The Phoenix reached out to Missouri Governor Mike Parson’s office, to ask if he’s okay with a state employee campaigning for a congressional seat in a different state. He did not respond to requests for comment this week, but he did tell KMOV-TV last week that “we want to make sure people are doing their jobs. I’m not a big fan of remote work. I never have been.”

“I can’t tell that he’s doing a lot of active campaigning except running very expensive ads that are very harsh on attacking his opponent,” says Escambia County Republican Executive Committee Chair John Roberts. “He’s not known in the district at all.”

McCarthy’s revenge

Dimmock’s campaign appears largely to be based on expensive and aggressive ads attacking Gaetz that have been paid for by Florida Patriots PAC, whose senior advisor is Brian O. Walsh , a close ally to former Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy.

McCarthy and Gaetz have a combative relationship. Gaetz is one of the eight House Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy from his House speakership a year ago, and McCarthy has not been shy about saying that he would spend resources this year to do his best to oust those eight Republicans from office.

Their enmity was illuminated last week at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, when Gaetz confronted McCarth y at the Fiserv Forum.

A poll released last week showed Gaetz leading Dimmock in the race, 67% to 20%.

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