U.S. House, District 1
Represents Florida's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives; votes on federal laws and spending. Term: 2 years.
Partly verified. Either the November opponent could not be confirmed from available sources, or only a few positions are documented. Confirm the full candidate list on your county sample ballot; unknown positions are shown as such.
How we verified who is on the ballot
WEAR-TV and WJHG post-primary reports (Aug 18-19, 2026) list three Nov. 3 candidates: Jimmy Patronis (R), Gay Valimont (D) and no-party candidate Tyler Davis ; ; . Ballotpedia page could not be fetched; write-in candidates not confirmed. Ballotpedia's Tyler Davis page (search snippet) confirms Davis qualified by petition as a no-party-affiliation candidate for the 2026 general election ). Florida's Legislature passed a new congressional map in the April 2026 special session (Senate vote 21-17 on April 29, 2026) and the Florida Supreme Court on June 10, 2026 declined (6-1) to block it, so the new district lines apply to the Nov. 3, 2026 election; litigation on the merits continues. ; ; County list reflects pre-2026 district boundaries unless a 2026 source is cited; boundaries changed under the April 2026 map and the exact new county composition was not confirmed in searches run for this guide.
Candidates
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Jimmy Patronis
Jimmy Patronis served as Florida's Chief Financial Officer before winning the April 1, 2025 special election to replace Matt Gaetz in the 1st District, defeating Gay Valimont 57% to 42%. He won the Aug. 18, 2026 Republican primary over Douglas Chico and John Frankman with roughly 72-75% of the vote (unofficial), setti…
Gay Valimont
Gay Valimont is a gun-violence-prevention activist based in Pensacola (Ballotpedia). She was the Democratic nominee for the 1st District in November 2024 and in the April 2025 special election, receiving 42% against Jimmy Patronis. She ran unopposed in the Aug. 18, 2026 Democratic primary and faces Patronis again in N…
Tyler Davis
Tyler L. Davis is a Pensacola resident who qualified by petition as a no-party-affiliation candidate for the Nov. 3, 2026 general election in the 1st District. He previously sought the seat as a write-in in the 2025 special election but was disqualified, per Ballotpedia. His campaign website and X account exist, but n…
Side-by-side on the major issues
Each row is a statement. The chips show how each candidate's stated positions or record relate to that statement. Expand a row to read the evidence and sources. "No public position found" means we could not find a statement or record on the topic, not that the candidate has none.
| Issue | Jimmy Patronis Republican | Gay Valimont Democratic | Tyler Davis No Party Affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Strongly agrees· based on record Voted for H.R. 1 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act) in 2025, which extended the 2017 individual tax cuts and created new deductions (tips, overtime) while reducing projected federal spending on Medicaid and SNAP. In his statement he said the bill would 'cement into law tax cuts for Americans across the board' and praised the elimination of federal income tax on tips and overtime. | No public position found | No public position found |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | No public position found | Strongly agrees· stated position Supports the bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act and stopping large Wall Street investors from buying up homes. | No public position found |
| ImmigrationImmigration enforcement should be stricter, including large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally. | Strongly agrees· based on record Voted for H.R. 1 (2025), which his office described as securing the border with $175 billion, 'the largest border security investment in history'; also voted for the SAVE Act. Mid Bay News reported he defended the administration's border-enforcement positions in interviews but declined follow-up questions about due-process criticisms. Sources: Congress.gov: H.R. 1 - One Big Beautiful Bill Act (119th Co… (2025-07-04) · House Clerk: Roll Call 190 (July 3, 2025) - agreeing to Sen… (2025-07-03) · Rep. Patronis press release: Congress Delivered a Big, Beau… (2025-07) · Mid Bay News: Rep. Jimmy Patronis declines to clarify key p… (2025-10-07) | Leans disagree· stated position Would secure the border with technology and more judges while creating a clear legal path to citizenship. | No public position found |
| AbortionAbortion should be legal in most cases (Florida's six-week ban should be repealed or loosened). | No public position found | Strongly agrees· stated position Says she supports access to comprehensive reproductive health care and the right to choose, and would vote to restore abortion rights in federal law. | No public position found |
| GunsGun laws should be stricter (keep the red-flag law and the age-21 purchase rule; expand background checks) rather than looser (permitless or open carry, lower purchase age). | No public position found | Strongly agrees· stated position Supports universal background checks and federal red-flag laws. | No public position found |
| Health careGovernment should expand its role in health coverage (expand Medicaid in Florida, extend Affordable Care Act subsidies). | Strongly disagrees· stated position In a July 2025 WEAR-TV interview cited by Mid Bay News, Patronis defended Florida's decision not to expand Medicaid, saying the program must stay focused on 'seniors, disabled, women, children' and that 'waste, fraud, and abuse' threatens its viability. He voted for H.R. 1, which added Medicaid work-reporting requirements. | Strongly agrees· stated position Would fight for universal, affordable, quality health care and reinstate the $35 insulin cap. | Leans agree· stated position Says Medicaid should provide quality care, not the minimum, and wants more providers participating through less administrative burden and better reimbursement. |
| Social Security & MedicareSocial Security and Medicare benefits must be protected from any cuts, even if that requires more revenue. | No public position found | Strongly agrees· stated position No cuts and no privatization of Social Security and Medicare. | Leans agree· stated position Would protect benefits for current retirees while improving the long-term sustainability of the trust fund. |
| Education & school choicePublic money should follow students to private, charter or home schools (universal school vouchers). | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Environment & waterProtecting water quality, conservation land and climate resilience should take priority even if it slows development or raises costs. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Elections & votingVoting should be made easier (mail voting, drop boxes, restoring voting rights) rather than adding new restrictions. | Leans disagree· based on record Voted for H.R. 22, the SAVE Act (April 2025), which would require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections; coded as supporting a new voting requirement rather than easing access. | Strongly agrees· stated position Would strengthen the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. | No public position found |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | Leans agree· based on record Voted for the Protecting Our Nation's Capital Emergency Act (H.R. 2096), the 2025 bill repealing parts of the District of Columbia police-accountability law; a vote for it is coded as leaning toward tougher policing. | Mixed / neutral· stated position Supports funding for both law enforcement and community programs, plus federal money for opioid treatment; a mixed position. | No public position found |
| Gender identity lawsFlorida's laws restricting gender-affirming care for minors and classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity should remain in place. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Energy & utilitiesGovernment should promote renewable energy and tighten oversight of utility rate increases, even at the expense of fossil-fuel production. | Strongly disagrees· based on record Voted for H.R. 1 (2025), which phased out most Inflation Reduction Act clean-energy tax credits and expanded oil and gas leasing. | No public position found | Mixed / neutral· stated position Backs an 'all-of-the-above' energy strategy while holding utilities accountable for rates and reliability; a mixed position. |
| Tariffs & tradeTariffs on imported goods are good for the American economy. | Strongly agrees· stated position In his statement after the 2026 State of the Union, Patronis said he backs 'pro-American tariffs' to revitalize domestic industry. | No public position found | No public position found |
| UkraineThe U.S. should continue military aid to Ukraine. | No public position found | No public position found | No public position found |
| Trump administrationI approve of the direction of the Trump administration. | Strongly agrees· stated position Received President Trump's 'Complete and Total Endorsement' for 2026 and has issued statements praising the administration's agenda, including thanking the President for 'holding Big Tech accountable' and calling H.R. 1 a 'Big, Beautiful Victory for America.' | No public position found | No public position found |
| VeteransExpanding VA services and veterans' benefits should be a top priority. | No public position found | Strongly agrees· stated position Wants a full-service VA hospital in Northwest Florida and full funding to cut the VA backlog. | Strongly agrees· stated position Lists a comprehensive veterans and military plan: better access to health and mental-health care and expanded employment and retraining. |
Where they sit on the map
Each candidate is placed by the average of their documented stances. It is a summary of the table above, not an extra judgment.
How the axes are computed
Each axis is the average of a candidate's coded stances (+2 to −2) on a fixed set of statements, so it comes straight from the documented positions and nothing else. A candidate needs at least three documented statements on an axis to be placed.
Economic issues (toward "Smaller government (lower taxes, less spending)"): Taxes & spending (agree), Property taxes (agree), Health care (disagree), Housing affordability (disagree), Property insurance (disagree), Energy & utilities (disagree), Social Security & Medicare (disagree), Teacher and staff pay (disagree).
Social & legal issues (toward "Conservative side of the statements"): Immigration (agree), Abortion (disagree), Guns (disagree), Education & school choice (agree), Elections & voting (disagree), Crime & policing (agree), Gender identity laws (agree), Marijuana (disagree), Environment & water (disagree), Trump administration (agree), Library and classroom materials (agree), School safety approach (agree).
| Candidate | Economic issues | Social & legal issues |
|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Patronis | 2.00 (3 statements) | 1.50 (4 statements) |
| Gay Valimont | -2.00 (4 statements) | -1.40 (5 statements) |
| Tyler Davis | -0.67 (3 statements) | not enough data |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Jimmy Patronis
- Big Tech and data centers — Thanked President Trump for 'holding Big Tech accountable' and for protecting electricity ratepayers from subsidizing data centers; discussed Big Tech in a Mid Bay News interview.
- Special Operations relocation — Demanded answers from the Pentagon about a possible relocation of special-operations units from the Emerald Coast.
- F-35 program, housing and daycare near bases — As a candidate, discussed support for the F-35 program at Eglin and addressed affordable housing and daycare shortages for military families in Niceville.
- No tax on tips and overtime — Highlighted, as a former restaurateur, the H.R. 1 provisions eliminating federal income tax on tips and overtime pay.
- Veterans — Maintains an official veterans issue page; specific proposals were not captured in searches.
- Criticized reported FBI monitoring of Susie Wiles' calls with Trump's legal team — After the New York Post reported that former Attorney General Merrick Garland authorized monitoring of Susie Wiles' phone conversations with President Trump's legal team during the 2024 campaign, Patronis said the Justice Department had pursued the President and called it an abuse of the justice system.
- Hurricane Isaias response (district took the hardest hit) — Patronis appeared at pre-storm briefings in Pensacola and post-storm briefings in Destin with Sen. Rick Scott, warned residents not to sign contractor paperwork before contacting insurers, said his office is helping people with FEMA and insurance claims, and said delegation members are seeking a higher federal reimbursement share. On Oct. 16 he thanked Gov. DeSantis for requesting a major disaster declaration and publicized IRS filing extensions to Feb. 8, 2027.
Gay Valimont
- Full-service VA hospital for Northwest Florida — Says she will fight to deliver a full-service VA hospital so veterans can get care close to home.
- Homeowner insurance relief — Supports federal legislation to cut homeowner insurance rates by at least 25%.
- Tricare expansion and VA claims backlog — Would push for full VA funding and expanded Tricare coverage to shorten waits.
- Term limits — Ballotpedia lists term limits among her key campaign messages, alongside health care, education, veterans affairs and foreign policy.Sources: Ballotpedia: Gay Valimont
Tyler Davis
No additional issues found in public statements as of the last data review.