Jacob Ogles
Republican Party of Florida chairman Joe Gruters said the state party would keep a united front heading into the presidential election.
“We’re moving the party forward,” Gruters said. “We had a couple of tough weeks with everything else going on, replacing staff members. But we have the team we need to be united to win in 2020.”
Despite reports of high-profile staff shifts, the party chief boasts of a still-positive relationship with Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Those changes? For starters, Jennifer Locetta, who came on as executive director in January, has been replaced with Peter O’Rourke, former U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary. Locetta previously worked under Gruters at the Republican Party of Sarasota.
More recently, campaign strategist Susie Wiles appeared to fall out of standing with DeSantis. Wiles and Gruters served as co-chairs for President Donald Trump’s Florida campaign in 2016.
But this month, she abruptly left her job at Ballard Partners and said she would not be working with the Trump campaign in 2020.
Both Locetta and Wiles cited health reasons for their departures.
POLITICO Florida characterized Wiles departure as getting “kneecapped” and reported the decision caught Gruters unawares. Then the same outlet Friday said DeSantis wants Gruters’ salary cut to pay more to O’Rourke.
That hasn’t happened, not least because party rules set Gruters’ salary; it’s not some negotiated amount.
“I don’t know how all of this got blown way out of proportion,” Gruters said. “Nobody’s salary is being cut. When you talk about budgets, some things are worthy of discussion.”
But right now, Gruters said his key priority moving forward is, again, party unity. He has worked closely with O’Rourke; the two of them were together in Orlando on Friday.
Gruters walked into the role of chairman with the support of DeSantis, and maintains a solid relationship now, he said.
“I think things have been great,” Gruters said. “Everybody is united, including the President, the Governor and me, and we are moving forward as a team.”
Gruters never forgets DeSantis represents the face of Republican politics in Florida. It’s something he stressed when he took over as chair in January, and he feels the same now.
“I am the chairman of the party. He is the leader of the party,” Gruters said of DeSantis. “The Governor is the boss. We are working together with the D.C. folks and the President. We are super strong, and we are truly united as we head into this election cycle.”
And despite recent reports, the line of communications between party leaders and the Governor’s team flow better than in the recent past, he added.
Former Gov. Rick Scott infamously feuded for years with Blaise Ingoglia after he won the chair position over Scott’s own pick, Leslie Dougher.
Since taking the party reins, Gruters worked to smooth relationships with partners in the Legislature and Governor’s Mansion. And of course, he’s kept positive standing with the Governor.
“I’m only focused on moving forward,” Gruters said. “Anything that happened in the past is the past. I want to make sure we have the strongest grassroots army in the history of grassroots campaigns.”
Notably, Gruters won the chairmanship at a time when several others had campaigned for the job.
After a short-lived push by DeSantis’ team to make state Rep. Byron Donalds state chair, DeSantis interviewed a handful of hopefuls, but then got behind Gruters in December.
As a state Senator, Gruters helped achieve one of DeSantis’ top legislative priorities, shepherding a ban on so-called sanctuary cities through the Senate and to the Governor’s desk.
So what’s with the sudden tumult around party operations? It’s hard to pin down, but as the Westerosi saying goes, chaos is a ladder.
“Some people win when there is turmoil, and I think that that’s the nature of the business we are in,” Gruters said. “All I can say is I have a great relationship with the Governor.”
DeSantis will speak at the 2019 Statesman’s Dinner, something that did not occur amid the Scott-Ingoglia imbroglio. And DeSantis this week sent out a fundraising appeal for the party.
DeSantis also remains popular. A recent St. Pete Polls survey shows 58 percent of voters have a favorable opinion of the job the new Governor has done, while only 30 percent hold an unfavorable view.
“We’ve got America’s best governor,” Gruters said. “For me, it’s an incredible opportunity to serve and advocate on his behalf.”
