Shaken by sex scandal, Florida GOP turns to repairing party's image, jockeying for top spot

Shaken by a sex scandal, the Republican Party of Florida is trying to quickly regroup and repair the party's image before the 2024 election kicks into high gear.

Plans are in motion to remove current party Chair Christian Ziegler, who has been accused of rape, and immediately elect a new chair on the same day, although the timing of when the election should be held is a point of contention.

A pair of longtime Republican activists have announced they're running to replace Ziegler: RPOF Vice Chair Evan Power of Tallahassee and Republican National Committeeman Peter Feaman of Palm Beach County.

Power said Ziegler gave the party a "black eye" but he's confident it can bounce back quickly. Feaman said his top priority is helping the party recover from the scandal.

"My mission is simple: Restore the good name and reputation of the Republican Party of Florida, previously the most admired in the country," Feaman said in an email announcing his candidacy.

The Florida GOP has been a juggernaut in recent years, capturing every statewide office in dominating fashion.

Gov. Ron DeSantis won his 2022 reelection by 19 percentage points, a shocking margin of victory in a state where previous high-profile contests typically have been extremely close. Florida Republicans also surpassed Democrats in statewide voter registration in 2021 and have steadily built on their advantage.

But the Ziegler scandal is a major setback for the party. Florida Democrats ‒ long beleaguered ‒ have an opening to try and paint Republicans as morally compromised and hypocritical.

Indeed, Democrats have pounced, gleefully pointing out the disconnect between Christian Ziegler's crusading as a champion for DeSantis' culture war agenda and the allegations against him. Meantime, Ziegler has proclaimed his innocence, saying the encounter was consensual.

Party activists are taking steps to remove him anyway, saying that regardless of the legal issue, there is a moral issue that needs to be addressed.

Police report: Zieglers participated in three-way sexual encounter

A police affidavit revealed that the alleged victim and Ziegler's wife, Sarasota County School Board member and Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler, acknowledged participating in a three-way sexual encounter more than a year ago that included Christian Ziegler.

Another three-way was planned on Oct. 2, but Bridget Ziegler couldn't attend, according to the affidavit. The alleged victim tried to cancel, but Christian Ziegler showed up at her Sarasota apartment anyway. That's when the assault occurred, the other woman told police.

The 40-member Florida GOP executive committee voted Sunday to censure Ziegler, strip him of his authority and reduce his salary to $1. His authority as chair was temporarily delegated to Power and another party leader.

The board also voted to hold a meeting of the party's full governing body on Jan. 8 in Tallahassee, when a vote is expected to remove Ziegler.

Both Power, 42, and Feaman, 70, announced their campaigns on Monday.

Power previously challenged Ziegler for chair but came up short. He has been vice chair of the state party since February and chair of the Leon County GOP for nine years.

Power, a lobbyist with the Ramba Consulting Group in Tallahassee, represents various industry groups before the Legislature and also does political consulting. Feaman is an attorney who has his own firm; he has been the Republican National Committeeman for Florida for nearly 12 years.

Both say they're confident the Florida GOP can quickly move past the sex scandal.

“History will show this was a blip and a little crisis," Power said, "that we were able to fix and recover. We’re going to get the party back working and continue to rack up big wins like we have the last couple of cycles."

Ziegler gave Florida GOP 'black eye' but it will recover, Power says

Power noted that the party acted quickly to hold Ziegler accountable: “Obviously it’s a black eye but the board took decisive action as soon as it could," he said.

As to whether the Ziegler episode could hamper the party's messaging on culture war issues, Power said he believes they still will be front and center.

“Those messages of protecting school-age children, all those things are still positive messages Republicans understand and see a great need for," he told the USA TODAY Network-Florida. "It’s unfortunate the actions of one person put it in a headline as a little bit of a level of hypocrisy, but that’s not what we are as an organization.”

Feaman said the Florida GOP is facing the worst scandal since he got involved with the party more than 20 years ago.

"I’ve never seen the party in greater danger ... than the scandal that we’re going through. (I)t compromises the image that we want to portray to the voters as the party of traditional values, the party of the rule of law," he said.

Yet Feaman also doesn't believe that Ziegler's actions will weigh the party down long-term. “We will move on from here and be the better for it," he said.

A big concern for Republican activists is that Ziegler can't be an effective fundraiser with the scandal hanging over him. Both of the candidates seeking to replace him say they can raise the money needed to be competitive in the next election cycle.

If Ziegler is removed on Jan. 8, there is a disagreement over when to hold the vote to replace him. Power wants to vote on Ziegler's successor the same day; Feaman wants to wait until February.

So far, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz have endorsed Power.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Florida Republicans try to move on from Christian Ziegler sex scandal