Pop culture star 'Tan Mom' reveals why she's running for a U.S. Senate seat in Florida — as a Republican

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to run for a U.S. Senate seat in Florida, TMZ confirmed. She's challenging incumbent GOP senator Rick Scott in the 2024 election — and she's running as a Republican despite not exactly following the party line on multiple issues, especially amid a controversy-filled political climate in Florida, where she now calls Boca Raton home.Patricia spoke to "TMZ Live" to explain why she's running, explaining that she's not a fan of some of Republican governor Ron DeSantis's controversial policies and thinks others in her party feel the same way.MORE: Stars who became politicians"I was blessed and was able to be a part of raising money for the Sunshine Cathedral in Florida.

I saw the amazing work they had done and it really impressed me," Patricia told TMZ, referring to the Ft. Lauderdale church with a ministry based in progressive Christianity that has a constituency of same-gender and gender non-conforming people and prides itself on being a safe and open community for LGBTQ+ people to worship.Patricia also said she's concerned about the banning of books in her new home state. "I was horrified about the book banning [in schools] in Florida … just a lot of the episodes that are going on here," she told TMZ. "And nobody is addressing them."She also said Medicaid was an issue for her, as she believes it's "just being abominably banished for the elderly especially.

That's three reasons I started doing this," she added of what sparked her interest in going to Washington.During their chat, TMZ found Harvey Levin pointed out that Patricia's positions make her sound more like a Democrat than a Republican.