Would Trump vs. DeSantis divide the Florida GOP? This candidate for party chair says no

A showdown between former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis for the GOP presidential nomination could put Florida Republicans in a tough position, but if Christian Ziegler becomes state GOP chair he says he won’t let it divide the party.

Ziegler is a Sarasota resident who has served as Florida GOP vice chair for the last four years and now is running for chair. His aspirations put him at center of one of the biggest political stories in the nation, and how he approaches the chair race provides a window into how ambitious Republicans are trying to navigate Trump vs DeSantis.

Trump recently announced his 2024 campaign for president and began taking shots at DeSantis, who is widely viewed as his strongest potential GOP opponent. Trump called DeSantis “DeSanctimonious” and an “average” Republican governor.

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The growing feud between the two GOP heavyweights could put pressure on Republicans to pick sides, and nowhere is that tension more acute than in Florida, home to both Trump and DeSantis.

So whoever holds the Florida GOP chair next will have the tricky job of trying to keep the party running smoothly without alienating either GOP leader and Republican activists across the state.

Ziegler is quick to praise both Trump and DeSantis while insisting the party can remain neutral.

“That’s the narrative the media wants; they want you to pick sides in a race that isn’t even occurring right now… I’m not out there picking sides,” Ziegler said.

A longtime GOP activist who served on the Sarasota County Commission for four years and as a Republican state committeeman for the last decade, Ziegler said he’s a “party guy first” and doesn’t believe the party should get involved in primaries.

“We’ll let the presidential primary play itself out; from my standpoint I’m focused on the internal party organization,” he said.

Ziegler, 39, hopes to take the reins from current Florida GOP Chair Joe Gruters, who is seen as closer to Trump than DeSantis. Gruters endorsed Trump during the 2016 presidential primary and went on to co-chair his campaign in Florida that year.

Ziegler also has been an ardent Trump supporter, even traveling to Washington D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021 and attending the rally that proceeded the riot at the U.S. Capitol, which he did not participate in.

Yet Ziegler said he is equally supportive of DeSantis and was highly active in his re-election campaign, including kicking off one of the governor’s final rallies this year in Sarasota.

Ziegler’s wife, Sarasota County School Board Chair Bridget Ziegler, also has strong connections to DeSantis, who endorsed her re-election effort and held a rally for her and other school board candidates.

The governor has praised both Zieglers at rallies and press conferences, but races for party leadership can involve complicated internal politics and the next leader of the state party won’t be known for weeks.

Leon County GOP Chair Evan Power also is running for state party chair, and other candidates could get in the race, which will be decided by a vote of party leaders in February.

Ziegler played down any potential divisions in the party, instead saying he wants to maintain the momentum that saw Republicans dominate at all levels in Florida this year and keep the pressure on Democrats.

“The definition of dream job to me is waking up every day knowing that my job is to lead a conservative grassroots machine to go after dangerous Democrats and the destruction they seek to cause,” Ziegler said.

Follow Herald-Tribune Political Editor Zac Anderson on Twitter at @zacjanderson. He can be reached at zac.anderson@heraldtribune.com

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Christian Ziegler not taking sides in Trump vs. DeSantis debate