Who are the Florida electors who will cast the state’s votes for Donald Trump today?

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Politicians, donors and activists convene in Tallahassee today.

The 29 Florida electors who actually will cast votes to pick a President convene today in Tallahassee? The list of individuals include some prominent elected officials, but also significant donors to Republican campaigns in the state.

At least three members of the Electoral College this year had to cancel ahead of the convening.  Any alternates will fill in for absent members will not be known until the college convenes this afternoon in the Florida Senate, according to Republican Party of Florida chair Joe Gruters.

The Republican Party of Florida submitted the slate of electors to the Division of Election in advance of the election. Electors are called upon to cast votes on Florida’s behalf after Trump won the presidential election in Florida even as he lost nationwide.

Maximo Alvarez, a Cuban immigrant who came to the U.S. as part of the Peter Pan program, spoke at the Republican National Convention earlier this year. He serves now on the Board of Trustees for Florida State University.

John Browning has served on the Florida Transportation Commission and the St. Johns River Water Management District. He resigned his post in 2017 after a controversial Facebook post about flying on a plane with a man wearing a headscarf.

Marili Cancio, a Republican attorney, ran for state Senate two years ago, but lost to Annette Taddeo.

Nelson Diaz, managing partner for The Southern Group’s Miami office, serves as chair of the Miami-Dade Republican Party. Over-performance in Miami-Dade helped Trump expand his lead in Florida significantly compared to the election in 2016.

Peter Feaman was elected this year to his third term on the Republican National Committee representing the Republican Party of Florida.

Jeffrey Feingold founded Managed Care of North America Dental and served on the Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees for a decade. (Update: Feingold last week canceled his participation in the Electoral College and an alternate will fill in.)

Rep. Randy Fine, a Palm Bay Republican, worked aggressively this cycle to woo Jewish voters to support Trump and the Republican Party.

Rep. Jason Fischer, a Jacksonville Republican, similarly stressed Trump’s Middle East record.

Charlotte Flynt, state committeewoman for Walton County, owns Two Oaks Construction and has served on the Northwest Florida State College Board of Trustees.

Gay Gaines has been a celebrated Republican activist in South Florida for years and was honored last year by the National Review Institute. (Update: Gaines last week canceled his participation in the Electoral College and an alternate will fill in.)

Sen. Joe Gruters, a Sarasota Republican, serves as chair of the Republican Party of Florida. He previously served as Florida co-chair for Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Roy Hinman, founder of Island Doctors, served on Gov. Ron DeSantishealth and wellness transition team.

James Holton has served on Florida Citizens Insurance board and the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority.

Marva Johnson, who previously chaired the Florida State Board of Education, served on the 2020 Republican National Committee Host Committee as it was considered whether to move the event to Jacksonville.

Belinda Keiser, a vice chancellor for Keiser University, ran in 2018 for Florida Senate for a seat ultimately won by Republican Gayle Harrell.

Kathleen King, a long-time Manatee County Republican leader, won election to the Republican National Committee in 2018.

J.C. Martin, chairman of the Polk County Republican Party, campaigned on the critical I-4 Corridor.

Pat Neal, a Southwest Florida developer, once served as a Democrat in the Florida Senate, but for years has served as a Republican kingmaker for the region. He has chaired Florida TaxWatch and the Christian Coalition of Florida.

Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, a Naples Republican, is in line to be Senate President in 2022.

Rep. Daniel Perez, a Miami Republican, is in line to be Florida Speaker in 2024.

Sen. Keith Perry, a Gainesville Republican, won a swing district in north Florida in 2018.

Moshe Popack, chairman and CEO of YMP Real Estate Management, was among the biggest financial donors to Miami-Dade Republicans.

Diane Scherff is president of the Trump Club of St. Johns County.

Frank Schwerin, a former chair of the Collier County Republican Executive Committee, has remained a leader in one of the state’s most reliably Republican counties.

Senate President Wilton Simpson just took the gavel in the Florida Legislature’s upper chamber. (UPDATE: Simpson tested positive for COVID-19 and will not be able to participate in the Electoral College vote; an alternate will be selected to take his place.)

Speaker Chris Sprowls, at the same time, took over as the presiding officer for the lower chamber.

Linda Stoch, a longtime Republican activist in Palm Beach County, is secretary of Club 45 USA.

Tim Weisheyer chairs the Florida Realtors PAC.

Christian Ziegler, a Sarasota County Commissioner, serves as vice chair of the Republican Party of Florida and campaigned across the state alongside Gruters rigorously ahead of the election.

UPDATE: The alternate electors filling in for missing electors will be Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez and Sens. Jeffrey Brandes and Ray Rodrigues.

Jacob Ogles

Jacob Ogles has covered politics in Florida since 2000 for regional outlets including SRQ Magazine in Sarasota, The News-Press in Fort Myers and The Daily Commercial in Leesburg. His work has appeared nationally in The Advocate, Wired and other publications. Events like SRQ’s Where The Votes Are workshops made Ogles one of Southwest Florida’s most respected political analysts, and outlets like WWSB ABC 7 and WSRQ Sarasota have featured his insights. He can be reached at [email protected].


2 comments

  • S B ANTHONY

    December 14, 2020 at 10:27 am

    Wow! Good thing trump arguably won Florida already or the fix would have been in for a slate of “faithless electors” who would have disregarded the will of Florida voters and cast their votes for Trump.

  • John McMahon

    December 16, 2020 at 3:33 pm

    Wow ! SB Anthony (do you even know who she was snowflake?) Please thank your fascist communist party overloads for telling you what to think and what to say every day! That gives you more time to think about hating America right you little Marxist sheep? Too funny ! A generation of coddled sniveling low IQ robots just waiting for the next issue of the Democrat talking points today magazine! Love that you’re already turning on basement pedo Joe because he’s not radical enough for you!!!! Wooow! Popcorn please!

Comments are closed.


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