Whistleblowing Florida Scientist Rebekah Jones to Run Against Matt Gaetz

Ron DeSantis has spent much of the last year bragging about how the state of Florida has combated the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the fact that the state is in the top 5 in the nation in cases and deaths, the Governor has regularly touted his leadership.

Rebekah Jones is a scientist who formerly worked for the Florida Department of Health. She claims that she was fired for her claims that DeSantis had been hiding the state’s real COVID data. And after the governor recently celebrated her temporary suspension from Twitter, Jones announced that she would be challenging Matt Gaetz for his congressional seat.

A spokesperson for the governor released a statement yesterday that read in part, “The decision (to suspend Jones) was long overdue. Rebekah Jones is the Typhoid Mary of COVID-19 disinformation and has harmed many hardworking DOH employees with her defamatory conspiracy.

To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.

Jones responded to the message via her Instagram account. She wrote, “Didn’t want to announce it this way, but since DeSantis is now taking credit for getting me suspended for sharing an article that proves he’s a sociopathic liar, it looks like I have to say it this way. I’m running for Matt Gaetz’ seat next year. No more sex traffickers in congress!”

It will be interesting to see what happens with Gaetz. There is a chance that, due to his legal troubles, may not even be able to run next year. If he is able to run, Florida voters will have to decide if they will support the controversial Republican.

Todd Neikirk

Todd Neikirk is a New Jersey based politics and technology writer. His work has been featured in psfk.com, foxsports.com and hillreporter.com. He enjoys sports, politics, comic books and spending time at the shore with his family.