Perez defeated Jose Mallea in a special Republican primary held on July 25, 2017, winning 54.8% of the vote.

[1] In the September 26, 2017 special general election, Perez won 65.8% of the vote, defeating Democrat Gabriela Mayaudon.

[2] Seeking election to his first full term in 2018, Perez defeated Frank Polo in the August 28, 2018 Republican primary, winning 80.5% of the vote.

These included forcing voters to put their double-enveloped ballots inside a third envelope and to mark the last four letters of their identity numbers.

[6] In January 2025, Perez alongside other Floridian Republicans including Florida Senate president Ben Albritton helped to bring down an attempt by governor DeSantis to call a special session on the topic of illegal immigration.