- State Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis won a second term over Democrat Adam Hattersley
- Patronis garnered exactly 60 percent of the vote
- Seen as the race’s frontrunner, Patronis brought in $1,890,433.44 through fundraising
- Patronis also received endorsements from Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio
Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis defeated Democrat challenger Adam Hattersley, pulling in exactly 60 percent of the vote.
During his first term as CFO, Patronis oversaw $1.2 billion in unclaimed property returned to citizens, arrested over 3,000 criminals on charges of insurance fraud, helped close 75,000 insurance claims, and secured $136.5 million dollars in claims paid to Florida Citizens, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
Thank you. 🥲
— Jimmy Patronis (@JimmyPatronis) November 9, 2022
Throughout his campaign, Patronis received endorsements from U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, the Florida Police Chiefs, and Gov. Ron DeSantis, among others.
“I am supporting Jimmy Patronis for re-election as CFO due to his strong stance on fiscal and economic issues,” said DeSantis.
From the early stages of the election cycle, Patronis was expected to easily defeat Hattersley, who formerly served in the state House of Representatives.
According to Transparency USA, Patronis brought in $1,890,433.44 through fundraising, holding much more campaign spending power than Hattersley, who is reported to have raised $287,678.
Patronis told members of the media that he intends to focus his efforts on taking on the IRS and its recently announced intent on hiring 87,000 new employees.
In the lead-up to election day, Patronis laid out his plan to fight the IRS surge, stating that he would help craft legislation to “protect small business owners.”
The CFO said his office will create an IRS transparency site where members of the public can report potential discrimination and targeting activities by IRS agents.
The draft of the legislative text details a proposed requirement for every financial institution, subsidiary, or service corporation in the state.
Per the language, financial operatives must submit a quarterly report to the Florida Office of Financial Regulation reporting the number of probes sent by the IRS concerning Florida-domiciled account holders.
Should Patronis’ proposals be adopted as its written by state lawmakers, Florida law would mandate that the state-chartered banks report all IRS activity to state agencies.
The information would be used by Floridians to assess how citizens of the state are being allegedly targeted by the IRS, and the reports would be made available to respective Congressional committees that provide oversight of the IRS.