Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), a Fox News favorite and a bulldog for President Trump on the Hill, is reportedly mulling a move across the border to Alabama to run for Sen. Doug Jones’ (D-AL) seat when he’s up for reelection in 2020, The Hill reported Thursday.
According to a Republican lawmaker who is close to Gaetz who spoke to The Hill, Gaetz has been running the idea by colleagues this week. Some of the conversations took place on Thursday. People close to Trump are reportedly encouraging the move, The Hill reported.
The spokesperson for Gaetz’s campaign told TPM “no comment.”
Gaetz told The Hill it’s “not something I’ve looked at myself,” but acknowledged people have told him about Alabama’s “very short residency requirement.”
In Alabama, anyone hoping to run for office has to be at least 30-years-old and live in the state for a lengthy 24 hours.
Rep. Bradley Bryne (R-AL) has already announced his intention to run against Jones in 2020. Jones won ex-Sen. Jeff Sessions’ (R-AL) seat in a special election against former Judge Roy Moore, whose bid was derailed by multiple allegations of child molestation from when Moore was in his 30s. Jones was the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in the ruby-red state in a quarter century.
