Gay Valimont
Gay Valimont (Democratic Party) is running in a special election to the U.S. House to represent Florida's 1st Congressional District. She is on the ballot in the special general election on April 1, 2025. The Democratic primary for this office on January 28, 2025, was canceled.
Valimont is also running for election to the U.S. House to represent Florida's 1st Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]
Biography
Gay Valimont was born in Thomaston, Georgia. She earned a bachelor's degree from Georgia Southern University in 1996 and a graduate degree from Troy State University in 2000. Her career experience includes working as an athletic trainer.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: Florida's 1st Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for U.S. House Florida District 1
The following candidates are running in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 1 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
![]() | Gay Valimont (D) | |
![]() | Aaron Dimmock (R) | |
Charles Keebaugh (R) | ||
![]() | John Mills (R) | |
Bernadette Pittman (R) | ||
Tayla Plumer (R) | ||
![]() | Gene Valentino (R) |
![]() | ||||
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Endorsements
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2025
See also: Florida's 1st Congressional District special election, 2025
General election
Special general election for U.S. House Florida District 1
The following candidates are running in the special general election for U.S. House Florida District 1 on April 1, 2025.
Candidate | ||
![]() | Gay Valimont (D) | |
![]() | Jimmy Patronis (R) | |
![]() | Stephen E. Broden (No Party Affiliation) | |
![]() | Richard Dembinsky (Independent) (Write-in) | |
![]() | Stanley Gray (Independent) (Write-in) | |
Jonathan Green (Independent) (Write-in) | ||
![]() | Stan McDaniels (Independent) (Write-in) |
![]() | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Alan Aversa (Independent)
- Tevin Channing Minus (No Party Affiliation)
- Tyler Davis (Independent)
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Gay Valimont advanced from the special Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 1.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- C. Marcel Davis (D)
Republican primary election
Special Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 1
The following candidates ran in the special Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 1 on January 28, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Jimmy Patronis | 65.8 | 33,554 |
Joel Rudman | 10.0 | 5,083 | ||
![]() | Aaron Dimmock | 6.7 | 3,398 | |
![]() | Gene Valentino | 6.0 | 3,059 | |
![]() | Michael Thompson | 5.0 | 2,528 | |
![]() | Greg Merk | 2.5 | 1,276 | |
Jeff Peacock | 1.4 | 737 | ||
![]() | Kevin Gaffney ![]() | 1.2 | 629 | |
![]() | John Mills | 1.1 | 570 | |
Jeff Macey | 0.4 | 186 |
Total votes: 51,020 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Christopher Slater (R)
- Cindy Meadows (R)
- Jeff Witt (R)
- Uloma Ekpete Kama (R)
- Eric Hafner (R)
- Angela Marie Walls-Windhauser (R)
- Scott Trotter (R)
Endorsements
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2024
See also: Florida's 1st Congressional District election, 2024
Florida's 1st Congressional District election, 2024 (August 20 Republican primary)
Florida's 1st Congressional District election, 2024 (August 20 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House Florida District 1
Incumbent Matt Gaetz defeated Gay Valimont in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 1 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Matt Gaetz (R) | 66.0 | 274,108 |
![]() | Gay Valimont (D) ![]() | 34.0 | 140,980 |
Total votes: 415,088 | ||||
![]() | ||||
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Gay Valimont advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 1.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 1
Incumbent Matt Gaetz defeated Aaron Dimmock in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 1 on August 20, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Matt Gaetz | 72.6 | 70,824 |
![]() | Aaron Dimmock | 27.4 | 26,788 |
Total votes: 97,612 | ||||
![]() | ||||
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- William McPhillips (R)
- Todd Jennings (R)
- Christine Santiago (R)
- John Mills (R)
Endorsements
Valimont received the following endorsements.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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2025
Gay Valimont has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Gay Valimont, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.
Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?
Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for. More than 21,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.
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2024
Gay Valimont completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Valimont's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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|Gay Valimont is a mother and gun violence prevention activist in Pensacola, Florida who has devoted her life to improving public safety. Gay earned a bachelor’s degree in Health and Exercise Science from Georgia Southern University, her National Athletic Trainers Association accreditation, and her M.A. in Education from Troy State University before pursuing her career in sports medicine in Atlanta.
There she worked for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and, later, Emory Sports Medicine as an athletic trainer. During her time in Atlanta, she met her husband Brian Valimont and started a family, giving birth to their son Eli in 2012. Together the family made the move to Pensacola for the incredible beaches and good public schools for Eli. While Gay couldn’t have been happier as a stay-at-home mother to Eli, she felt a pull to serve after the Sandy Hook School shooting unfolded and got involved. She joined Moms Demand Action for Gunsense in America locally and stayed engaged, even when Brian’s job moved them to Naples. By 2016, Gay was a full-time grassroots activist and had worked her way up to Florida State Lead. In 2020, Gay faced the unimaginable when her husband Brian was diagnosed with ALS and a few months later their 8-year-old son Eli was diagnosed with DIPG, a rare and terminal brain tumor. Gay served as the primary caretaker for both until they passed away, within months of each other. She then returned to Pensacola – where her family was happiest.
- While navigating the terminal illnesses of both her husband and son at the same time, Gay got a real-world education on the importance of accessibility and affordability of healthcare. Every person should have access to the care they need without wondering if they can afford to save their own life or the life of a loved one. Universal, affordable, quality health care must be a priority. Gay will fight to: Expand Medicaid, Protect Medicare, Defend the Affordable Care Act, Reduce prescription costs, Ensure that all Americans have access to quality doctors and preventative health care, and treatment for their physical and mental health.
- All Americans deserve to live full, free, healthy lives. We must ensure that all people, including women, minorities, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ+ Americans, and Indigenous persons have equal access to housing and healthcare, educational opportunities, access to credit, and safe working conditions. All aspects of our government must be committed to the rule of law and equal protection for all. Gay will fight for: Access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare and the right to choose. Equal pay for equal work and closing the gender pay gap. Policies that address racial and ethnic disparities in education, criminal justice, and economic opportunities. Ensuring LGBTQ+ rights through anti-discrimination measures. Disability Rights.
- Gun violence is a deadly public health crisis that demands action. More than 120 gun fatalities occurring every day and the #1 killer of children. To address this crisis, we must take immediate and comprehensive steps at the national level. At the core of our strategy is legislation to strengthen background checks for all gun purchases, a critical measure to keep firearms out of the hands of terrorists, domestic abusers, and violent criminals. Gay will fight for: Universal Background Checks on ALL gun sales to close existing loopholes and ensure every sale includes a thorough background check. Strengthening and expanding Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs), or Red Flag Laws, t
Gay is passionate about bridging the divide and taking the HATE out our politics. She believes there are bipartisan solutions to many problems that face Americans, like border security, that the current Congress is incapable of doing. The most urgent needs are making sure all Americans have accessible and affordable healthcare, including abortion/ reproductive healthcare. Gun Violence is an epidemic that has plagued every community but has sensible bipartisan solutions that have not been addressed because of lawmakers inaction. I believe if we want to change our gun laws to include strong background checks on all gun sales, we must change Congress. Voting rights are paramount, because access to the ballot is the cornerstone to democracy.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
I believe our elected officials should be honest and set the tone for American politics that does not include hate and division. I believe Congress should enact term limits for US House and Senate, so that our our lawmaking body moves forward with the American people and makes the most of their time in Congress.
Listening and caring about what your constituents say and need to improve THEIR lives.
I believe the core responsibilities of our elected officials is to listen to all of their constituents and act on their behalf. I also believe it is the duty of electees to be honest, even if it does not benefit them politically.
I would like my legacy to be that I worked harder than everyone else and made our world better.
The inauguration of Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States.
I waited tables for 9 years through college.
Llama Llama Red Pajama- Because it was my son's favorite book as a child.
Just the way you are- Bruno Mars
in 2021 my 9yo son Eli died from a terminal brain tumor and six months later years my husband Brian died of ALS. I was their caregiver, simultaneously.
Congress should have term limits: 4 for House, 2 for Senate
Susie Lee
Everytown for Gun Safety, Ban Assault Weapons Now.
Veterans Affairs, Armed Services, Education, Oversight, Ethics
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Valimont’s campaign website stated the following:
“ |
Healthcare Access
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” |
—Gay Valimont’s campaign website (2024)[3] |
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 11, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Gay Valimont’s campaign website, “Issues,” accessed July 24, 2024