Florida State GOP Chairman Ousted After Refusing to Resign Amid Rape Allegations
The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) voted on Jan. 8 to oust Chairman Christian Ziegler, as the former Sarasota County Commissioner is embroiled in a scandal and the subject of a police investigation over rape allegations.
The state GOP executive committee voted to suspend Mr. Ziegler in December 2023 and demanded his resignation, citing the need for better leadership going into an important election year that will decide which party controls Congress and the White House.
Mr. Ziegler has refused to step down since the allegations surfaced in November 2023, even as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) all called for his resignation.
Florida is an important battleground state in the fight for control over the House of Representatives in the 2024 election.
This is terribly off-message for the Republican Party, said RPOF Constitution and Rules Committee Chair Stafford Jones.
The RPOF nominated former vice-chair and Leon County GOP Chairman Evan Power to succeed Mr. Ziegler.
It puts an important issue behind us and allows the Republican Party of Florida to move on, Mr. Jones noted.
Mr. Power called ascension to state GOP chair an honor of a lifetime and urged that the RPOF is not defined by one person.
The vote to remove him was nearly unanimous, Mr. Jones said.
Mr. Ziegler was accused of sexual battery by a woman with whom he and his wife, Bridget Ziegler, admitted to having a three-way romantic relationship when questioned by the Sarasota Police Department, which is currently investigating the allegations.
According to phone text messages released in police documents, the couple was supposed to meet with the alleged victim on the day of the incident, but Mrs. Ziegler was unavailable. When the alleged victim tried to cancel, Mr. Ziegler visited the woman at her apartment without his wife.
Mr. Ziegler claimed the interaction was consensual and released a statement through his attorney that he would be exonerated once the investigation is completed.
Mrs. Ziegler is also an elected member of the Sarasota County School Board (SCSB), which voted to ask for her resignation during a meeting in December 2023.
She refused to resign after listening to three hours of public comments, with some members of the public defending her while others called her a hypocrite for engaging in a same-sex romantic relationship after being an outspoken critic of the LGBT movement.
Mrs. Ziegler is also appointed by the Florida governor to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD), which Mr. DeSantis created after successfully stripping Disney World of its self-governing status when the company criticized a Florida law that bans classroom discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades, known by detractors as the Don’t Say Gay Bill.
Mrs. Ziegler helped draft the legislation.
Neither Mr. Ziegler nor his wife have been accused of a crime.
Since Mrs. Ziegler is an elected official on the SCSB, the vote for her resignation carried no legal weight, something she referenced in her refusal to step down.
The governor has the ability to remove elected officials in the state. But there’s kind of a high standard; it’s got to be for malfeasance or in performing the duties of the office, Mr. Jones said.
As far as Bridget goes, this situation has put Moms for Liberty in a little bit of an uncomfortable situation. And it has caused some risks for the movement to make sure parents’ rights are protected. But aside from that, I guess it’s up to Bridget to determine how she moves forward with this.
The allegations against Mr. Ziegler and the subsequent refusal to resign have caused significant turmoil within the Florida GOP, particularly given the upcoming important elections. The hope now is that with the appointment of Evan Power as the new state GOP chair, the party can move forward and focus on its goals.
The future of the rape allegations against Mr. Ziegler remains in the hands of the police investigation, which will determine the credibility of the accusations made against him. Meanwhile, Bridget Ziegler faces growing criticism and calls for her resignation as an elected official and member of conservative activist group Moms for Liberty.
With the political landscape in Florida heating up, all eyes will be on the state’s GOP and how they navigate the fallout from these allegations as they work towards securing victory in future elections.
