House GOP leaders urged their members on Thursday to not campaign against incumbent colleagues. But Rep. Matt Gaetz wasn’t there to hear it. He was in Texas, campaigning for a primary challenger aiming to unseat Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales.
Gaetz skipped the House GOP retreat to attend a rally for Brandon Herrera, a self-proclaimed Second Amendment activist. Herrera and Gonzales will be in a runoff on March 28 after the congressman failed to get past 50% of the vote in the primary.
Gaetz acknowledged at the event that his presence wouldn’t please some fellow Republicans.