Kathleen Passidomo leads fresh call for Christian Ziegler’s resignation

Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo believes Republican Party of Florida Christian Ziegler must resign.

She told Florida Politics she agrees with Gov. Ron DeSantis that a rape accusation makes it impossible for him to lead the party and that dealing with his legal troubles will require Zeigler’s full attention.

Her remarks came after DeSantis said Ziegler should step down.

“The Governor is the leader of our Party,” Passidomo said. “I agree with his position. The allegations are serious.”

A woman told Sarasota Police that Ziegler raped her on Oct. 2. A search warrant used to obtain digital information from Ziegler’s electronic devices confirms he was at the woman’s home at the time in question. Ziegler and his wife, Sarasota School Board Member Bridget Ziegler, confirmed to police that both had been involved in a prior sexual encounter with the woman on at least one occasion a year before.

Nearly two months after the accusation was filed with police, no charges have been filed, but Ziegler remains under active criminal investigation. To date, he has rebuffed DeSantis’ call for his resignation.

Passidomo, a Naples Republican, is now the most prominent state lawmaker to date to call for Ziegler to step aside. But other elected officials have also said he needs to resign.

State Sen. Dennis Baxley, an Ocala Republican, agreed Ziegler must go. When asked by Florida Politics if Ziegler should resign, Baxley replied “Yes. Unfortunately. Very sad.”

State Rep. Spencer Roach, a North Fort Myers Republican, said Christian Ziegler should resign as party Chair “immediately” and Bridget Ziegler should resign her School Board seat.

“The sooner these headlines read ‘former Republican Party of Florida Chair,’ the better for the party,” Roach said.

He compared the disgust within Republican circles to the feeling Florida Democrats felt after photos emerged of former gubernatorial Andrew Gillum nude in a Miami hotel room where another man had been treated for a drug overdose. Gillum faced no charges for the incident, but the matter effectively ended his political career.

Roach said the entire affair with the Zieglers has similarly exposed hypocrisy and embarrassed the entire party.

“In speaking with colleagues, Republicans and Democrats, it’s not necessarily that they engaged in an alternative lifestyle that bothers people,” Roach said. “It’s holding themselves out as a paragon of Christian conservative values, and then living this double life behind the scenes.”

But not everyone in Florida GOP circles is calling for Ziegler’s head.

State Rep. Alex Andrade, a Pensacola Republican, said such calls are premature, noting Ziegler for the moment only faces an accusation of a crime.

“I won’t have an opinion like that until I see an indictment or charging document,” Andrade said. “A police report isn’t even probable cause or admissible as evidence. Until there’s an indictment, the whole ‘resignation’ debate (is a) distraction at this point.”

Former Manatee County Republican Party Chair Steve Vernon said Ziegler’s resignation would set a dangerous precedent for the party.

“He hasn’t even been charged yet, so it’s very premature to think he should resign,” Vernon posted on X. “If an accusation is all that’s necessary to get someone out of office, we are in big trouble as a country.”