On Monday, the Republican Party of Florida will almost certainly choose a new chairman. Christian Ziegler, the current chair, is facing a rape investigation and other charges that he denies. But those charges prompted the party to strip him of his salary and authority last month.
Monday’s meeting in Tallahassee will deal first with removing Ziegler as chair, then electing his successor. That’s likely to be Evan Power, the party’s vice chair, who lost the top job to Ziegler less than a year ago but appears on track to seize it now. Republicans endorsing him include Governor Ron DeSantis, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, Congressman Matt Gaetz and former state party chairs Blaise Ingoglia and Joe Gruters.
Power is a Tallahassee lobbyist who chairs the Leon County GOP. He says the state party needs to put Ziegler behind it as fast as possible rather than waiting for its annual meeting in Orlando on February 10th.
“I think the quicker we can turn the page, the better it is for the party, both from a fund-raising standpoint and for our elected officials who don’t need this hanging over their head," Power said. "Everyone who’s in this race to be the next Republican chairman of Florida is known by our members. I don’t think 30 days is going to change one vote, but it could change a lot of votes when it comes to turning out voters for the general election, and we just don’t have that time to waste.”
It's not a done deal for Power, though: He’s opposed by longtime national committeeman Peter Feaman, a Boynton Beach attorney.
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