ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Florida has played a high-profile role throughout the impeachment process against President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., with Representatives on both sides of the aisle making the most of their time in the national spotlight.
Maybe the two who have gained the most attention throughout the hearings have been Rep. Val Demings of Orlando and Rep. Matt Gaetz, who represents Florida’s 1st Congressional district in the panhandle.
Demings, a Democrat, sits on both the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees. Gaetz, a Republican and vocal supporter of President Trump, sits on the Judiciary Committee.
“What they have really done is they have over staged the old-timers,” said 10News political analyst Lars Hafner, a former Democratic Representative in the Florida legislature.
“We have a lot of people who have been in Congress for a while whether it’s in Sarasota with Vern Buchanan, or Charlie Crist in St. Petersburg or Kathy Castor in Tampa. And, these two in particular, Gaetz and Demings, are getting the high profile right now, and it has a lot to do with the committees but it also has to do with their future ambitions, I’m sure.”
Hafner believes that both Demings’ and Gaetz’s performances during the impeachment hearings could serve as foundations for future political campaigns either in Congress – or in Florida.
“Because [Demings] is from Orlando, the I-4 corridor, she’s made a name for herself as a thoughtful individual who has a law enforcement background that puts her in great stead to either come back to Florida to be an Attorney General or to run for Governor or even maybe U.S. Senator,” said Hafner.
“Matt Gaetz, on the other hand, he’s trying to put a foot in both Washington, D.C. and in the state of Florida because he’s a close adviser to Governor DeSantis so, he’s doing work in Florida as well as in Washington. So, we don’t know which way he’s going to go, work up in leadership in D.C. or come back to Florida and run for office.”
One of Gaetz's comments during the impeachment clearly did not serve him well, though.
RELATED: Florida lawmaker takes jab at Hunter Biden's substance abuse, gets reminded of his own DUI arrest
During Thursday's televised House Judiciary Committee impeachment proceedings, The Washington Post says the republican lawmaker described the former vice president's son and his connection to a Ukranian gas company as "dirty" -- and went on to attack Hunter Biden's struggles with substance abuse.
“I would say that the pot calling the kettle black is not something that we should do,” Georgia Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson responded.
Johnson's comment appeared to be a reference to Gaetz's own struggles, specifically a 2008 arrest for driving under the influence.
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