Florida GOP ousts Ziegler, elects replacement in push to move on from scandal

TALLAHASSEE — The Republican Party of Florida formally ousted its chairperson, Christian Ziegler, on Monday, after weeks of turmoil spurred by a sex scandal and the revelation that Ziegler is being criminally investigated for rape.

At a closed-door meeting at the Tallahassee Conference Center 10 minutes from the state Capitol, participants overwhelmingly voted to remove Ziegler from his post. Many in the party have been itching for new leadership as quickly as possible to steady the ship in a crucial election year. About 200 Florida Republican officials flocked to Tallahassee to participate in the vote, including top legislative leaders, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds and representatives from each county’s GOP.

The vote to oust Zeigler was a voice vote, but three “nays” were audible, according to the party’s executive director Helen Aguirre Ferré, rendering the vote 199-3.

Taking the reins will be Evan Power, a Tallahassee lobbyist who previously ran against Ziegler for the job and had been serving as the party’s vice chairperson. Power won Monday’s race for chairperson with 135 votes, prevailing over Peter Feaman, a Boynton Beach attorney who is one of Florida’s representatives on the Republican National Committee, who received 65 votes, according to the party’s official count. Three votes cast were invalid.

Before Monday, Power was endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to posts Power made on the social media platform X.

At the convention center, connected to a Days Inn hotel, the mood was upbeat. Party members hugged and greeted each other as they checked in, then packed into a conference room, where they were led in a prayer before the doors closed to reporters.

After voting to oust Ziegler, the candidates vying to be the new party chairperson made their pitches to members. No one spoke in favor of Ziegler, said Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, who formerly led the party and said he voted for Power.

Ingoglia told reporters that ousting Ziegler was “the absolute right thing to do.” He said the party is spending “a lot of time and energy” on the scandal, and it’s affected the party’s fundraising.

”Unfortunately, because of a scandal of this magnitude, I think that most people are paying attention to this,” he said. “So I think a lot of the small-dollar donors may be drying up.”

Power has already taken control over much of the party’s operations since the Republican Party of Florida’s executive board stripped Ziegler of his authority at a Dec. 17 meeting in Orlando. During that meeting, party leaders also censured Ziegler and called on him to resign.

On Nov. 30, news reports revealed that Sarasota police were investigating a woman’s allegation that Ziegler raped her in October, which Ziegler has denied. The accuser’s identity has been redacted in police documents.

Police documents later revealed more about the case, including that the woman who accused Ziegler had previously participated in a consensual threesome with Ziegler and his wife, Bridget, according to statements the woman and Bridget Ziegler made to investigators.

Bridget Ziegler is a prominent conservative education activist who co-founded the Moms for Liberty group and is a member of the Sarasota County School Board. The Zieglers have advocated against things like LGBTQ+ school lessons, prompting accusations of hypocrisy and a divide between their public personas and private behavior.

A December search warrant affidavit showed police were also investigating Christian Ziegler for the crime of video voyeurism because of a video police said he took of the October sexual encounter.

Ziegler’s attorney, Derek Byrd, has said that his client will be exonerated. Ziegler has not been charged with any crime in the case and the investigation is still ongoing.

Ziegler was not present for Monday’s meeting in Tallahassee. He did not immediately respond to a text requesting comment.

State Rep. Spencer Roach, R-Fort Myers, said there was speculation that Ziegler refused to resign because he wanted to file a wrongful termination lawsuit and needed to be fired.

Roach said the party had “counsel” review the action, and he didn’t think a lawsuit, if Ziegler filed one, would be meritorious.

”I think we’re absolutely on legally sound footing here,” he said. “I think it’s just another sort of question for a payout. And, you know, Christian Ziegler has certainly shown his true colors.”

Following the meeting, Power said that the party came together and it was time to “move forward.”

”The No. 1 job the chairman has is (to) fundraise. We’re going to start right now,” Power said, adding that the party has to win back the trust of donors.

”We can prove that we were bigger than one person,” he said. “We moved on as fast and efficiently as we could, and now we’re in a new chapter with a new chairman.”