Cris Dosev Wants a Rematch With Matt Gaetz

Businessman and Marines veteran Cris Dosev raised some eyebrows with his solid showing in the Republican primary for an open congressional seat in the Florida Panhandle and now he is back for a rematch.

Matt Gaetz won last year’s primary to replace retiring longtime U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., with 36 percent while then state Sen. Greg Evers, a veteran of the Legislature who was killed in a car accident last week, took second with 22 percent. But Dosev was less than 1,000 votes behind Evers in his political debut, pulling 21 percent. Four other Republican candidates split the rest of the vote. 

Now Dosev is back for a rematch and he’s starting to get active, including appearing at a event in Pensacola on Thursday as the featured speaker on "Modern Europe and the Defense of Freedom: Reflection of an American Revisiting the Foundations of Western Civilization.”

While he is trying to nail down conservatives, Dosev doesn’t have an easy assignment. Despite being a freshman, Gaetz has been busy in Congress from his perches on the Armed Services, Budget and Judiciary Committees. Gaetz has tackled issues ranging from keeping drilling out of the Gulf, Chinese cybercrimes, airport restoration, medical marijuana and calling for a special counsel to look at the conduct of the Obama administration and former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton. 

“The American people deserve answers,” Gaetz said when his amendment was passed last month. “The Obama-Clinton scandals should not be forgotten or forgiven just because Hillary Clinton lost the election. The rule of law still matters. It is past time to appoint a special counsel to investigate the real crimes and the real criminals. As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, I will continue to call for justice and robust oversight.”

Dosev does not have an open shot at Gaetz. Retired Navy officer John Mills is also seeking the Republican nomination. Despite this being one of the most solidly Republican districts in Florida, the Democrats already have a candidate off and running in Phil Ehr, a retired Navy officer who served for more than a quarter of a century and rose to the rank of commander and who has lived in Escambia County for more than three decades.