Florida Republicans vote to oust chairman accused of rape

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — After calling for his resignation last month, Florida Republicans on Monday voted to remove GOP Chair Christian Ziegler, who is accused of rape, from his position.

In a December meeting, Florida GOP leaders stripped Ziegler of his authority and slashed his salary to $1 after he refused to resign.

During a closed-door emergency meeting in Tallahassee on Monday, the majority of those present voted to oust him, 199-3.

“The Republican Party had no choice,” said St. Petersburg College professor Tara Newsom. “The conflict that is following the Zieglers is now following the Republican Party.”

Shortly after the meeting, Vice Chair Evan Power was elected to assume the role.

“I feel good,” Power said after the vote. “I think we’re ready to move Florida forward. It’s good to have this chapter behind us. You know, the Republican party of Florida is bigger than one person and what we did today is come together and close this chapter and move on so we can continue winning elections as we move forward.”

Power said he was voted into the position 135-65.

After it was announced Power would take over as the GOP chair, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said he has faith in him and is looking forward to the future.

“We’re moving forward–one party,” Patronis said. “At the end of the day, we’ve got to get Christian out, that took place. So, Christian’s gone. We’re moving forward. United party. We’ve got to win the White House in 2024, and that starts in Florida.”

Republican Party of Sarasota County Chairman Jack Brill also spoke, saying he hopes the county can keep things going after this “really sad journey.”

“Obviously, a very significant majority removed Christian Ziegler as chairman today. We’re excited to move forward with chairman Evan Power. He’s going to get us back to where we need to be. Let’s hope this is the beginning of the end of this really sad journey we’ve all had to take in the last three months, and I hope in Sarasota, we keep moving along.”

The unprecedented move comes after a woman accused Ziegler of rape in October. According to police documents, Ziegler and his wife, Bridget Ziegler — a member of the Sarasota School Board — had a sexual relationship with another woman and planned to meet at her apartment. But after Bridget was unable to attend, the accuser said Ziegler showed up and assaulted her.

Ziegler has maintained his innocence and said the sexual encounter was consensual.

The incident was reported to the Sarasota Police Department on Oct. 4, and the investigation was made public on Nov. 30.

Ziegler and his wife have admitted to police they previously had a consensual sexual relationship with the accuser. Plus, recent court documents revealed Ziegler showed investigators a video of himself engaging in the sexual encounter in question.

Bridget Ziegler has not been accused of any crime, and Christian Ziegler has not been charged with any.

“The Republican Party in the state of Florida positioned itself as a leader in culture wars,” Newsom added. “They took that onto the presidential campaign trail, and now, what they’re finding is, their own home is a little bit untidy.”

News Channel 8 reached out to the Democratic Party of Sarasota County about Ziegler being removed from his position.

“The Sarasota County Democratic Party commends the Republican Party of Florida for removing Christian Ziegler as party Chairman. However, in a party that still lifts Donald Trump as the de facto leader, who has admitted to forcing himself on women and has been held liable for sexual abuse himself, find this action somewhat hollow.

The Republican Party has lost its way, and it’s time its leaders focus on issues facing the American people instead of using their power against women. We trust the Sarasota Police Department will continue its investigations into Mr. Ziegler and applaud the accuser for coming forward against such an influential political figure.”

Daniel Kuether, Chair for the Sarasota County Democratic Party