Longtime south Sarasota Republic club changes name and purpose, causing confusion

Tom Knight used to make a habit of attending meetings of the Republican Club of South Sarasota County – considered the second largest Republican club in Sarasota County − so his attendance at the Jan. 10 meeting of the organization was a logical stop on his campaign to win the Sarasota County Commission District 3 seat now held by Neil Rainford.

By the time he got up to speak, Mike Stephenson had been succeeded by Proud Boys activist James Hoel as president of the club, which also resigned its charter from the Republican Party of Florida and adopted the name America First Southwest Florida Caucus.

Several other politicians also attended the meeting, which featured Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Ron Turner, including Sheriff Kurt Hoffman and Michelle Pozzie, who is running for the District 74 seat currently occupied by State Rep. James Buchanan.

Both Knight and Pozzie spoke for about two minutes each and Knight, the popular former sheriff, received an exuberant greeting, which included an expression of support for him.

“It kind of caught me off guard; I was just there campaigning,” Knight said of the change in name and organization structure.

Hoel – who was present in the protests outside of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2020 but said he did not go inside – said there currently is no national umbrella organization for the Proud Boys.

The Southern Poverty Law Center logged the Proud Boys – which were founded during the 2016 presidential election by VICE Media co-founder Gavin McInnes – as one of 89 active hate and anti-government groups in Florida, with the closest chapter in Lee County.

South County GOP political landscape shifts right

Some observers link the Republican Party group's shift to the rising influence of Michael Flynn, former President Donald Trump's first national security advisor – who was involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

On July 12, 2023, the club, which boasts at least 200 active members, hosted Flynn as a guest speaker.

Flynn was described in a joint investigation by The Associated Press and the PBS series “Frontline” as a leading Christian Nationalist who “spreads baseless conspiracy theories.”

In September 2022, Flynn and Hoel, who along with local members of the Proud Boys, were active in fostering a Republican sweep of three Sarasota County School Board seats – became members of the Sarasota GOP’s executive committee, which has roughly 270 members.

In December 2022, Flynn backed fellow Englewood area resident and GOP activist Conni Brunni in a failed bid to succeed Joe Gruters as Sarasota GOP party chair, when she lost to Jack Brill by 33 votes out of the 301 votes cast.

Sarasota GOP spokesman Rod Thompson noted that several individuals joined the local Republican Executive Committee specifically to vote for Brunni, with many since dropping off the rolls by exceeding the limit of three excused absences.

Thompson added that while both Flynn and Hoel are still members of the Executive Committee, then have not attended any meetings from September 2023 through this month, though they both have received excused absences.

Even without control of the local GOP, right-wing conservatives have had a major impact in recent years.

Long before Flynn and Hoel arrived on the scene, members of the Republican Club of South Sarasota County chafed at the state party prohibition against endorsing candidates – with members often objecting to strategies that filtered down from the main Sarasota GOP.

Sarasota County Democratic Party Chairman Daniel Kuether directly linked the schism in south Sarasota County to the rise of MAGA movement crafted by Trump in his 2016 campaign.

“I think what we’re seeing here is a residual effect of everything that’s been going nationwide,” said Kuether, who has been in the county for about six years. “Sarasota County has been a microcosm of all of that and it certainly has been zeroed in on here with the addition of Mike Flynn and some of the MAGA extremists that have really settled down here in Sarasota County and insisted on bringing their politics with them.”

He also pointed out that a statewide shift to the right predated the MAGA movement.

“Heck, look at Pat Neal, who was a Democratic politician for years,” Kuether said. “We have seen people switch across lines and I think that’s more reflective of the state of Florida and politics here in the south overall vs. specifically South County.”

Still, since Flynn’s arrival, right-wing conservative have had a significant impact on Sarasota County.

For example, the Sarasota County Republican Assembly Chapter, led by Brunni, has been involved in a variety of issues, ranging from the push to make Sarasota County a “Medical Freedom Sanctuary,” and a “Bill of Rights Sanctuary” to severing its ties with the American Library Association and Florida Library Association.

Brunni was also instrumental in setting up the framework for the ZEM movement – short for (Bridget) Ziegler, (Tim) Enos and Robyn Marinelli – in the 2022 Sarasota County School Board race, including the strategy of calling School Board Member Marinelli’s Democratic opponent a “Babykiller,” on a sign towed by a truck purportedly driven by Proud Boy Nicholas Radovich.

Hoel and his wife Kathy and Radovich and his wife Melissa established a nonprofit “Unmask Freedom,” shortly before a September 2021 event where local medical professionals would sign mask exemptions for school children during the COVID pandemic.

Mariinelli ultimately skipped a meet-and-greet hosted by Hoel and his wife after the event became public.

Zielger later attempted to distance herself from the Proud Boys' involvement, claiming that members showed up at the GOP School Board election celebration to photobomb the event.

A political endorsement that didn’t happen

The Jan. 10 event raised questions about whether it was appropriate for Knight to accept what some perceived as an endorsement by a club led by Hoel and his affiliation with the Proud Boys.

However, both Hoel and Knight said last week that there was no formal endorsement – though since the club became incorporated as a 527 nonprofit on Jan. 1, 2024, it could endorse candidates.

That’s something that the former Republican Club of Sarasota County could not do.

Hoel said Flynn is not actively involved in the America First Southwest Florida Caucus – something supported by the list of officers and committee members on its website.

Rainford, who was in a Sarasota County Commission meeting on Jan. 10, said that he had not yet had formal contact with the club, but expected to.

“A lot of those people were members of the South County Club that was established for a long long time so I wouldn’t rule that out,” Rainford said, then added, “I think they’re planning to meet with me.”

Why the America First Southwest Florida Caucus formed

Hoel pointed specifically to rules recently passed by the Republican Party of Florida as the impetus for forming the caucus, which he said is an independent entity not affiliated with any similarly named groups that populate Google searches, or any national organization.

He characterized the groups philosophy as putting principle over politics.

“We definitely lean conservative but we’re concerned with our country,” he added. “We believe in America and what our founders meant by it and not what it's turned into now, as far as limited government and maximum freedom."

Florida GOP rules that the group objected to included provisions that would allow for the state party to remove any board member and strip the club of its status by revoking its charter.

A majority of club members also did not want all of their information shared with the state party.

He also pointed to the fact that state party members could pop in at meetings unannounced to speak and veto scheduled speakers who were non-party affiliated or not mainstream Republicans.

“They could come in at any time and affect who’s speaking at the meeting – they could take over your meeting at any time,” Hoel said. “When you’re freedom minded and you’re trying to find the best candidates for your community and be active, that kind of binds you.”

The caucus also did not want to rubber stamp candidate recommendations made by the state club. It will likely weigh in on the 2024 election by issuing its own voters guide, which could differ in some races from the Republican Party's.

Sarasota GOP leader Brill, in a written statement delivered through  Thompson, said of the new group: “We wish the America First Caucus well.

“We’re all fighting against Democrats, but they have a vision for doing so that is not in line with Republican Party of Florida rules, so they took this route.

"We have many strong Republican clubs covering South Sarasota County, such as the North Port Republican Club, West Villages Republican Club and the Nokomis-Osprey-Venice (NOVA) Republican Club,” he added. “We are certain there will be issues and campaigns we can work together on in the future.”

Brunni expressed support of the club in a text.

“It is our hope that our example has given courage for the club that sent back their charter,” Brunni wrote.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: America First SW Florida Caucus forms; splits with state GOP party