Republican Erick Aguilar announced today that he will be running in Florida’s newly drawn 4th Congressional District.

Aguilar, a Navy veteran, kickstarted his bid for CD 4 on Monday, touting that his campaign has banked over $1 million, with an additional $812,000 cash on hand. Aguilar’s campaign highlighted that it has drawn in over 20,000 unique contributors generating donations from all 50 states with 80% of his donations coming from the Sunshine State.

“I retired from the Navy in 2016. I thought I was going to spend that time with my kids. Then I started seeing that it wasn’t the country that I defended,” Aguilar said in a statement. “Still today, we need to have more action and leadership. I understand things get political, I understand things happen, but we need to see results… I am an outsider and a leader.”

Aguilar was born in San Pedro Sula, Honduras in 1975. At the age of seven, he and his family moved to an area of Brooklyn, New York that was plagued by the drug and crime epidemic and the ongoing education and economic crisis.

He noted in a press release that growing up in this “rough” area and overcoming these struggles led him to join the United States Navy, where he served for over 20 years — being deployed to the Persian Gulf during operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

Aguilar added that his vision for CD 4 is to structure “America First” policies that will increase the quality of life for Floridians and their families.

“I am a husband and a father to young children. It is imperative that we work hard now to ensure a bright and prosperous future for the next generation. Whether it is in the classroom and being a part of the conversation surrounding their curriculum, pushing back against ‘woke’ ideologies, or working with other leaders to protect them from threats abroad, it is up to us to keep the American Dream alive for them,” Aguilar continued. ” I look forward to continuing to cast my vision and share my thoughts with all of the new constituents of District 4 over the next several months.”

Aguilar’s entry into the new district in Northeast Florida, which includes Nassau, Clay, and Duval County areas north and west of the St. Johns River, comes after Governor Ron DeSantis approved a congressional map last Friday that split Jacksonville into two districts.