Florida GOP expected to oust leader Christian Ziegler after sexual assault allegation
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE & online.rainn.org).
The Florida GOP on Sunday began the process of removing Chair Christian Ziegler amid sexual assault allegations, with the party's executive board voting during an emergency meeting to censure the chair, strip his authority and reduce his salary to $1.
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 him.
"We asked him to resign immediately; he has still not resigned," Florida GOP Vice Chair Evan Power said, adding, "So we wait. We're calling a special meeting ... to elect a new chairman and remove him formally from office."
A Sarasota police investigation into a woman's claim that Ziegler raped her on Oct. 2 has rocked the state's Republican Party, complicating efforts to gear up for the 2024 election. Sunday's vote showed party activists are eager to put Ziegler's situation behind them.
Ziegler isn't going quietly, though. He has resisted calls from several Florida Republicans to resign and was in attendance Sunday to defend himself.
The Republican leader told the executive board that "people have agendas” and asked members to “wait for case to end” before casting judgment, according to a source. He didn’t invoke former President Donald Trump, who also has been accused of sexual assault.
Ziegler has maintained his innocence, saying the Oct. 2 incident was consensual. Police are still investigating the allegations and have not charged Ziegler with a crime.
His critics within the party want him gone regardless of whether he ends up facing criminal charges. They say the information revealed in police documents has destroyed his ability to carry the party's message into the next election cycle and that he won't be an effective fundraiser.
According to a search warrant affidavit, the alleged victim and Ziegler's wife, Sarasota County School Board member and Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler, told police they had a sexual encounter more than a year ago that included Christian Ziegler.
Another sexual encounter was planned on Oct. 2, but Bridget Ziegler couldn't attend, according to the affidavit. The victim tried to cancel, but Christian Ziegler showed up at her Sarasota apartment anyway. That's when the assault allegedly occurred.
Florida's top elected Republicans have called on Ziegler to resign, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, U.S. Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio, Attorney General Ashley Moody, state House Speaker Paul Renner and state Senate President Kathleen Passidomo. U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, who gave Ziegler his start in politics as an intern on the congressman's first campaign, also has said he should step down.
Rubio is the latest to speak out, posting on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter on Friday that "the conduct the Florida GOP Chair has now himself admitted to makes it impossible for him to continue in his position."
The Zieglers have emerged in recent years as a GOP power couple in Florida and leading advocates for the culture war agenda pushed by DeSantis, which has emphasized LGBTQ issues.
Bridget Ziegler was with DeSantis when he signed the Parental Rights in Education Act, which was derided by critics as the "Don't Say Gay" bill. DeSantis later appointed her to a board overseeing Disney's properties in Central Florida. Disney has feuded with the governor over the law.
There also have been calls for Bridget Ziegler to resign from the School Board, but she has been defiant, attending a recent board meeting and enduring hours of public testimony critical of her behavior.
Only DeSantis can remove Bridget Ziegler, but Christian Ziegler can be voted out by the Republican activists who picked him as party chair in February.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Florida Republicans start push to remove leader over rape allegation