The Republican Party of Florida officially ousted its former chair Christian Ziegler in a closed-door meeting Monday. The party also announced they have elected Leon County Republican Party chair Evan Power as his replacement.
Ziegler is currently facing a rape investigation and other charges that he denies. The situation prompted the party to remove him after calls for his ouster from Republican elected officials across the state coupled with Ziegler's suspension last month.
“I don’t see how he can continue with that investigation ongoing, given the gravity of those situations and so I think that he should step aside, I think he should tend to that, he’s innocent until proven guilty, but we just can’t have a party chair that is under that type of scrutiny,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a press conference last month.
With Ziegler’s removal, Power was the clear heir apparent. Previously the state party’s vice chair, he came in second in the race for the job last February. This time around, he came into the vote with endorsements from Florida's biggest Republican figures, including Governor Ron DeSantis, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, Congressman Matt Gaetz and former state party chairs Blaise Ingoglia and Joe Gruters.
Speaking to WFSU shortly after his appointment, Power said his selection will help quiet outside noise and position Republicans for success in an election year.
“The Republican Party is bigger than any one person, and we are ready to move forward and we are going to continue winning because we are the conservative model of America. I think what we have is a unified Republican party that is ready to continue the victories into 2024,” Power said.
Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell argued that the need for a shakeup months out from the 2024 elections have caused the state GOP to become disjointed.
“There are fractures in the Republican Party. They certainly don’t have their stuff together right now. We certainly have ours together, and we are going to keep building power brick by brick,” Driskell said.
But internal party turmoil is unlikely to shrink the state Republican Party’s momentum. The GOP voter registration lead over Democrats grew to over half a million in 2023. The party also secured supermajorities in both chambers of the legislature during the 2022 elections.