Jesse Scheckner
Three GOP candidates are running to succeed term-limited Rep. Chip LaMarca in House District 100, but only one has the backing of Sarasota Sen. Joe Gruters.
Gruters, a past Chair of the Florida GOP who is poised to soon take over the Republican National Committee, wants to see lawyer and U.S. Army Reserve Capt. Yoni Anijar represent Broward County in the HD 100 seat next year.
Gruters said he’s “enthusiastic” in his support.
“In these critical times, Florida needs proven fighters who are unequivocally committed to the America First agenda, and Yoni Anijar is precisely that leader,” Gruters said in a statement.
“He is a patriot who understands the principles that made our country and our state great, and he will be an essential ally in Tallahassee in our fight to support President (Donald) Trump’s vision for the nation.”
Anijar, a 34-year-old first-generation American, filed to run in January. But he’s no newcomer to the legislative process.
Between 2011 and 2014, he completed three internships in the Florida House and Congress. He has worked for several law firms in Florida, New York, Israel and Washington, D.C., and as corporate counsel for Experian and Tapad, an ad-tech company specializing in cross-device mapping and digital identity resolution.
Today, Anijar works as senior corporate counsel at Flagler Health while continuing to serve as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer with the U.S. Army Reserve.
He’s running to support Trump’s “America First” agenda, stop illegal immigration, protect communities from overdevelopment, eliminate property taxes, reduce insurance costs, fight abortion and safeguard gun rights, according to his campaign website.
Gruters said that among the Republican Primary field for HD 100 — which also includes pediatric plastic surgeon Eric “Doc” Stelnicki and former Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Mayor Chris Vincent — Anijar is “the clear choice for conservatives and all who believe in the America First movement.”
“He will fight alongside us to secure our border, stand up to the woke mob, and put Floridians first, always,” Gruters said. “I urge the voters of House District 100 to join me in supporting a true patriot. Let’s send Yoni Anijar to Tallahassee to help us keep Florida free and help President Trump Make America Great Again.”
Anijar, who added another $100,000 to his campaign coffers last quarter, thanked Gruters in a statement.
“From faithfully serving his community in the state legislature to championing powerful Conservative grassroots efforts both here in Florida and across the nation, Sen. Gruters is an unfailing warrior who is always charging forward in the fight to Make America Great Again,” he said. “I look forward to following in his footsteps in the Florida Legislature.”
HD 100, which spans a coastal swath of South Florida from Fort Lauderdale north to Deerfield Beach, is the only House district fully within Broward County controlled by Republicans.
LaMarca, who previously served as a Broward County Commissioner, has held the seat since 2018. He won re-election in November with 57.5% of the vote, giving LaMarca his best state-level margin of victory yet.
Banker and former U.S. Senate staffer Jim Brenner is the only Democrat in the HD 100 race.
The 2026 Primary is Aug. 18, followed by the General Election on Nov. 3.
