MAGA firebrand Matt Gaetz learns his political fate after sex scandals and bitter personal feud with Kevin McCarthy

Matt Gaetz brushed by a primary challenger backed by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday. 

Gaetz, R-Fla., who led the successful ouster of McCarthy, emerged victorious over his sole GOP opponent Aaron Dimmock, a retired Navy officer who Gaetz attacked as not living in the Florida district. 

'Kevin McCarthy wants to recruit me an opponent but he couldn't even find someone from Northwest Florida to run against me,' Gaetz said.

'So he had to pick someone who last voted in Pensacola 20 years ago.'

Gaetz and McCarthy's feud has intensified ever since his ouster last year. A PAC affiliated with the former speaker pumped over $3.5 million into taking down Gaetz, but its efforts failed.

The group has highlighted the ongoing Ethics Committee investigation into Gaetz over alleged drug use and sexual misconduct. Gaetz has called the investigation 'frivolous' and accused McCarthy of being behind it. 

'I live in Pensacola,' Gaetz's challenger Dimmock fired back with a laugh when asked about it by a local news network. 

'Aaron Dimmock was advertising on his own Linkedin that he lived in Jefferson City, Missouri, the day he qualified against me for Congress,' Gaetz said. 

Dimmock explained that he lives in Pensacola but owns a home in Missouri and spends time there as well. 

'I live here in Pensacola,' he explained. 'I do own a home in Missouri, as many people own homes in different locations. And yes, most recently, I was there for some work I was doing.' 

Dimmock attributed this to his military service, noting that he lived across the globe but had longstanding family ties to the area. 

'I had the opportunity to be stationed in the State of Florida many times,' Dimmock said. 'Three of our four children were born in this state, and we're proud to call Florida home, specifically Pensacola.' 

Gaetz confronted McCarthy last month at the Republican National Convention (RNC). 

'What night are you speaking? If you took that stage, you would get booed off of it. You’d get booed off the stage!' Gaetz snickered at the California Republican. 

McCarthy said in April that he lost his job because he refused to help Rep. Matt Gaetz cover up 'sleeping with a 17-year-old.' 

'I'll give you the truth why I'm not speaker,' McCarthy said at a Georgetown University talk entitled 'How Strong Is Our Democracy?'

'It's because one person, a member of Congress, wanted me to stop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17-year-old,' the California Republican went on. 'Did he do it or not? I don't know.'

McCarthy has long accused Gaetz of launching the historic motion to vacate that ousted him from the speakership last year over an ongoing ethics investigation into his conduct.

Gaetz shot back to the speaker's accusation on X: 'Kevin McCarthy is a liar. That’s why he is no longer speaker. Just ask the 224 people who voted to remove him.'

In February, McCarthy suggested married Gaetz 'lies about who he sleeps with.' 

The House Ethics Committee first opened an investigation into Gaetz in April 2021, but paused it during while the Department of Justice launched their own investigation into the member.

The DOJ eventually decided not to bring charges against Gaetz.

The House Ethics Committee, however, has reopened their probe into the Floridian.

Additionally, newly reported text messages show Gaetz soliciting a young woman who his now-imprisoned pal Joel Greenberg had paid for sex to join him on a three-day excursion to the Florida Keys.

The messages, reported by ABC News, allegedly occurred in May 2017, months after the Florida Republican was sworn into office.

Texts described in detail to the outlet reportedly show Gaetz asking the woman to fly on a private plane and join him, one other woman and three other men in the Keys.

McCarthy is the only speaker to ever lose the gavel mid-term in Congress. He subsequently left the House and has left no holds barred since on the eight Republicans who voted to oust him.