Jacob Ogles
Republican Party of Florida Vice Chair Evan Power will face competition for state Chair. But he’s quickly racking up key endorsements.
That includes support from U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, a Miami Republican.
“With the 2024 elections right around the corner, the Republican Party of Florida needs a strong and experienced leader,” Rubio said. “Evan Power is a long-time friend and I am confident he will work tirelessly to ensure Republicans are elected up and down the ballot. Evan Power has my full support in his bid to become the next Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida.”
Already, Power has stepped into more of a leadership position as a sex scandal swirls around current state Chair Christian Ziegler. The party’s executive board on Sunday, at a meeting called by Power, voted to censure Ziegler, reduce his salary to $1 and strip him of day-to-day authority over party resources.
Power announced on Tuesday he would run for state Chair, and on Wednesday announced numerous key supporters.
Power’s campaign also announced endorsements by state Sens. Joe Gruters, a Sarasota Republican, and Blaise Ingoglia, a Spring Hill Republican. Gruters preceded Ziegler as state Chair, and Ingoglia held the role before Gruters.
Gruters previously told Florida Politics he expects Power to secure the gavel.
“I anticipate Evan Power being the next chairman of the Republican Party of Florida,” Gruters said.
Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, a Trilby Republican, also said Power should lead the party. State Sen. Jay Collins, a Tampa Republican, is endorsing him as well.
Broward County’s executive committee members, including State Committeeman Richard DeNapoli, county GOP Chair Chris Marino and State Committeewoman Michele Merrell, also announced their support.
The party’s full executive committee is expected to meet in Tallahassee on Jan. 8 to formally remove Ziegler and elect a new Chair.
Notably, National Committeeman Peter Feaman also announced he’s running for the job, and argues an election should wait for a quarterly meeting in February.
Many sources within the party, though, see momentum behind Power if only for the sake of continuity. The Tallahassee Republican is effectively taking on many duties of state Chair now, and is expected to run the January meeting called to formally remove Ziegler.
He also has political voices quickly rallying behind his candidacy. U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn, a Panama City Republican who represents Tallahassee, quickly endorsed Power for state Chair.
“I’m proud to endorse Evan Power as the Republican Party of Florida Chairman,” Dunn said.
“Evan is a proven leader who was instrumental in the huge success of the Florida GOP in recent years. There’s too much at stake statewide and nationwide, and Florida will need someone with the expertise to lead the fight and win. I firmly believe Evan is more than capable of restoring the good name of the RPOF, upholding conservative values, and leading our party to victory in 2024.”
2 comments
Dont Say FLA
December 20, 2023 at 1:30 pm
And here’s Evan, another old white man who thinks HE will get ALL the chicks if he’s the chair of Florida’s G0P.
The new chair should obviously, so obviously, be a woman. But the old white men of Florida’s G0P simply are not going to answer to any woman. Women should be in the kitchen making them a pie and/or at the school board meeting complaining about having to parent their own children. Right? LOL @ the Florida G0P
My Take
December 23, 2023 at 2:11 am
Ì remember when GOPer conservatives were starting to infest school boards. One old Democrat board member who even referred to the Klan as “my boys” was a progressive in comparison. He at least wanted good public schools for white kids.
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