Jimmy Patronis

RepublicanU.S. Representative, FL-1

Age	54 (b. 1972-04-13)
Gender	Male
In office since	2025-04-02 (~1 yrs)
Race / ethnicity	White; of Greek descent (Greek-American)
Religion	Greek Orthodox Christian (Eastern Orthodox); lifelong member of St. John the Theologian Greek Orthodox Church, Panama City; named an Archon of the Order of St. Andrew
Education	A.A. in restaurant management, Gulf Coast Community College (1994); B.A. in political science, Florida State University (1996). Interned in the Florida Senate and the UK House of Commons while at FSU.
Prior occupation	Partner/co-owner of Captain Anderson's Restaurant (family-owned seafood restaurant) in Panama City Beach; family restaurant operator (Patronis Brothers, Inc.)
Military service	No
Birthplace	Panama City, Florida
Marital status	Married — Katie Patronis
Children	2
Residence	Panama City Beach, Florida
Notable relatives	Father Jimmy Theo Patronis Sr. (d. 2020) was co-owner of Captain Anderson's Restaurant; family owns Captain Anderson's Restaurant & Waterfront Market in Panama City Beach. No documented relatives in elected politics.

Wikipedia · Ballotpedia · Official site

Pending research: languages · openly lgbtq.

Career & politics

First elected	2006
Previous offices	Member, Florida Elections Commission (1998-2003, appointed by Gov. Lawton Chiles, reappointed by Gov. Jeb Bush) · Chairman, Bay County Airport Authority (2004-2006) · Member, Florida House of Representatives, District 6 (2006-2014) · Member, Florida Public Service Commission (2015-2017, appointed by Gov. Rick Scott) · Chief Financial Officer of Florida (2017-2025)
Committees	House Committee on Small Business (119th Congress) · House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (119th Congress)
Caucuses	Republican Study Committee
Leadership	Chief Financial Officer of Florida / Florida State Fire Marshal (2017-2025, statewide elected cabinet office)
Ideology	Republican; conservative. Endorsed by Donald Trump in the 2025 special election; joined the Republican Study Committee.
Signature legislation	As Florida CFO, championed Florida's firefighter cancer-benefit law (2019 legislative session) providing benefits to firefighters diagnosed with certain cancers

Financial

Net worth: disclosed $8,160,000–$8,160,000 (2023) · estimate

Patronis Brothers, Inc. (family restaurant business stock, 1,250 shares)	business_owned · $1,600,000–$1,600,000 · 2023
Partnership interests in LLCs tied to Patronis Brothers (family restaurant/real estate entities)	private_equity · $2,475,000–$2,475,000 · 2023
Home in Panama City Beach, Florida	real_estate · $602,365–$602,365 · 2023
Condominium in Tallahassee, Florida	real_estate · $147,630–$147,630 · 2023
Interest in LLC linked to Emerald Coast Urgent Care, Panama City Beach	business_owned · 2023

Top donors: Associated Industries of Florida (to Treasure Florida PAC) ($85,000) · Florida Power & Light / NextEra Energy (to Treasure Florida PAC) ($60,000) · Tampa Electric Company (to Treasure Florida PAC) ($50,000) · Centene (to Treasure Florida PAC) ($40,000)

Top industries: Insurance · Electric utilities · Health care / managed care · Business/industry associations

Scandals & crimes ledger

resolved — Ethics complaint over personal use of state-issued vehicle

ethics-violation · 2017-10-09 · Patronis was involved in a minor traffic accident on October 9, 2017 while driving a state-issued Chevy Tahoe; the accident occurred while he was reportedly en route to a location associated with his political consultant. Patronis did not reimburse the state for personal use of the vehicle until roughly seven months later, the same day a POLITICO reporter asked the agency about the trip. His 2018 election opponent, Democrat Jeremy Ring, filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics alleging the trip was personal/campaign-related use of a state vehicle. FDLE also examined the matter. In December 2019, after a hearing, the Florida Commission on Ethics found no probable cause to support the complaint and it was dismissed. · Florida Commission on Ethics found no probable cause; complaint dismissed with no finding of a violation.

A 2018 election opponent filed a Florida Commission on Ethics complaint alleging Patronis improperly used a state vehicle for personal/campaign purposes when it was involved in a 2017 traffic accident; the Commission found no probable cause and dismissed the complaint.

Sources: Florida Politics · Tampa Bay Times

resolved — Ronald Rubin "pay-to-play" civil lawsuit and related litigation

financial/corruption · 2019-08-01 · After Florida's Office of Financial Regulation Commissioner Ronald Rubin was fired in July 2019 over sexual-harassment findings, Rubin sued CFO Jimmy Patronis, lobbyist R. Paul Mitchell and others, alleging he was pushed out as retaliation after refusing to facilitate a scheme in which his wealthy father would be solicited for roughly $1 million in campaign contributions in exchange for Rubin keeping his job. A related suit by attorney Kimberly Grippa against Patronis and other state officials, alleging negligent hiring/supervision of Rubin, was also litigated. A criminal referral alleging bribery/corruption by Patronis was reviewed by the State Attorney's Office for the 2nd Judicial Circuit. In August 2022, Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper issued a 17-page summary judgment rejecting Rubin's pay-to-play and related allegations. Florida's 1st District Court of Appeal upheld that ruling and ordered Rubin to pay the defendants' reasonable attorney's fees and costs, finding the appeal without merit. Separately, the State Attorney's Office found insufficient evidence of bribery or corruption and closed the referral without charges, and the 1st DCA also ruled in November 2021 that the hiring/firing of a political appointee was not subject to judicial review, further narrowing the negligent-hiring claims against Patronis. · Civil claims against Patronis and co-defendants rejected via summary judgment, upheld on appeal; plaintiff Rubin ordered to pay defendants' attorney's fees for a meritless appeal. Criminal bribery/corruption referral closed by state prosecutors with no charges filed.

A fired state financial regulator sued Patronis and a lobbyist alleging a pay-to-play campaign-contribution scheme motivated his ouster; courts granted summary judgment for the defendants, an appellate panel affirmed and sanctioned the plaintiff, and a related criminal bribery referral was closed without charges.

Sources: Insurance Journal · Tampa Bay Times · Florida Politics · Florida Politics