Florida GOP elects Evan Power as new state Chair

After booting Christian Ziegler as Chair of the Republican Party of Florida, the executive committee has named Evan Power as his successor.

Power said he wanted to pull the party back together after a headline-grabbing scandal largely paralyzed the party.

“I think we’re ready to move forward. It’s good to have this chapter behind us,” Power told reporters after the meeting. “You know, the Republican Party of Florida is bigger than one person.”

Power beat out National Committeeman Peter Feaman for the role in a 135-65 vote. Indian River Republican Chair John Vacchiano also ran for the post. All three candidates could be spotted lobbying voters during check-in at the Tallahassee Conference Center, well before a vote took place to formally remove Ziegler.

“The number one job of the party chairman is to fundraise,” he said. “You can’t do anything in the party without voting.”

Notably, this marks Power’s second run for state Chair in the last year. He ran against Ziegler and lost a close vote in February. Power won election as Vice Chair immediately after that vote, a recommendation from Ziegler after the divisive election.

He told the press that the experience of running recently likely helped with this quickly arranged vote. More important, he said it informed him about the priorities and desires for party leaders across Florida.

“It has been a journey and I have traveled 70,000 miles across the state,” he said. “It only makes me a better chairman.”

Now, it falls on Power to restart fundraising, which largely ceased as officials dealt with Ziegler’s scandal.

Power previously served as the Chair of Chairs for the state party. He’s also chaired the Leon County Republican Executive Committee since 2014.

His role as the second-highest ranking official within the party put him in a place to act as Chair over the past month as Zieger faced a criminal investigation for rape and video voyeurism. The state party’s executive board in December voted to censure and sideline Ziegler amid the scandal.

Of note, Power called both the December meeting of the executive board in Orlando and a Monday meeting of the executive committee in Tallahassee. Ziegler at the Orlando meeting questioned if Power had the legal authority to do so, and brought a legal opinion saying as much. That could signal litigation in the future.

But Power’s election at least for now puts the scandal behind the party as an institution. Both Feaman and Power ran on a promise to restore organizing and fundraising ability.

Feaman had argued a vote for new leadership should have been delayed until a regular meeting in February. But he also came prepared for a vote.

In weeks leading up to the vote, Power announced the support of a number of party leaders, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and former Republican Party of Florida Chairs Joe Gruters and Blaise Ingoglia.

Ingoglia said after the meeting he would make himself available as a resource to Power as he takes over the party mid-election cycle.

Several political leaders voiced confidence. “He’s been a perfect Leon Republican Chair,” said U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn.

Notably, Power’s ascension from Vice Chair also opens that position up. Executive committee members like Mike Thompson, Lee County Republican Chairman, have already announced plans to run for that job. That will be decided at a Feb. 10 meeting in Wesley Chapel.