Fighter pilot, adorned fight veteran Jeff Witt proclaims bid to fill Florida Home seat vacated by Gaetz

FIRST ON FOX: Fighter pilot and adorned fight veteran Jeff Witt introduced Monday he’s coming into the race to fill former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s seat representing Florida’s 1st congressional district as a Republican who vows to “fight to get inflation under control, secure our borders, and strengthen our military,” whereas working with fellow GOP lawmakers to go President Trump’s “America First” agenda, Fox Information Digital has discovered.

Witt, 38, is a two-time graduate of Harvard College, a businessman, adorned Afghanistan Struggle veteran, F-35 fighter pilot and teacher with greater than a dozen years of army service. Witt flew 82 fight missions in Operation Enduring Freedom. 

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Witt is at the moment serving as a coverage advisor on the Trump-Vance Presidential Transition Group. 

“I have served my country in uniform for 14 years, and my dedication to service extends to the community in which my family and I live,” Witt advised Fox Information Digital. “I am excited to meet voters from all across the district in this campaign, and prove to them that they can trust me to be a leader in Congress who represents them with conviction, hard work, and integrity.” 

Witt advised Fox Information Digital that he’ll “fight to get inflation under control, secure our borders, and strengthen our military.” 

Jeff and his spouse Courtney are the proud mother and father of 4 younger youngsters – Joan (6), Kirby (5), Grace (3), and Charlie (8 mos).

“I will listen to the needs of my constituents, and I will work on their behalf to make Florida’s 1st District the finest place in America for veterans, businesses, and families,” he stated. 

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Witt and his spouse Courtney are mother and father of 4 younger youngsters, Joan, 6; Kirby, 5; Grace, 3; and Charlie, 8 months outdated. The Witt household resides in Niceville, Fla., the place he’s an energetic member of his church and teaches his youngsters’s Sunday faculty. 

Witt attended Harvard College for his undergraduate research and was a Harvard soccer quarterback. He additionally obtained his Grasp of Enterprise Administration from Harvard College. 

Jeff has 14 years of army service and is a adorned Afghanistan Struggle Veteran. He flew 82 fight missions in Operation Enduring Freedom. (Jeff Witt)

A 2024 Membership for Progress fellow, Witt has already been endorsed by high former Trump administration officers, together with former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie. 

“Jeff Witt is a patriot and a staunch supporter of President Trump and his America First agenda,” Wilkie advised Fox Information Digital. “As the former Secretary of Veterans Affairs under President Trump, I know that Jeff’s mission will always be to put warriors first. I am honored to give Jeff my full endorsement.” 

Wilkie advised Fox Information Digital that Witt “stands for the right things—family and freedom.”  

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“There will be no one better than Jeff Witt to represent Florida’s 1st Congressional District,” former director of the Air Nationwide Guard Lt. Gen. (ret.) Stanley Clarke advised Fox Information Digital. 

Witt served beneath Clarke, who praised him as “an amazing father, husband, and officer who has dedicated his life to serving this great country.” 

“A true American patriot who will serve Americans with honor and distinction,” Clarke stated of Witt. 

Witt’s marketing campaign comes after Trump tapped Gaetz as his lawyer common to guide the Justice Division in his second time period.

Gaetz had represented Florida’s 1st congressional district from January 2017 till earlier this month, when he resigned from his submit upon receiving the nomination for lawyer common.

Born in Orlando, Witt now resides along with his household in Niceville. Witt is a Christian and an energetic member of his church, the place he teaches youngsters’s Sunday faculty.

Gaetz withdrew his identify from consideration for lawyer common on Thursday, saying his affirmation course of was “unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump-Vance transition.” 

Gaetz resigned from his seat representing Florida’s 1st Congressional District earlier this month when President Trump nominated him to function lawyer common. Gaetz has since withdrawn his identify from consideration to guide the Justice Division, however stated Friday he wouldn’t try to return to Congress. 

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Witt joins a rising Republican main area of candidates vying for the seat, together with Florida State Sen. Michelle Salzman, Dr. Joel Rudman; Keith Gross and John Frankman; Bernadette Pittman; and former federal authorities official and trainer Kevin Gaffney. 

The date for the particular election has but to be set. 

Witt is the brother of Patrick Witt, a member of the Trump Transition group who ran for statewide workplace in Georgia in 2022 with the endorsement of President Trump. Patrick Witt additionally served within the first Trump administration as deputy chief of employees within the Workplace of Personnel Administration.