The Florida Republican Party voted on Monday to remove Party Chairman Christian Ziegler over allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman last year. The emergency vote, which followed high-level calls for Ziegler to resign last month, also appointed Vice Chairman Evan Power as his replacement, in hopes of returning focus to Governor Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign.
The incident at the center of Zeigler’s legal troubles allegedly occurred on October 2, 2023, when the woman who filed the charges agreed to have a threesome with Ziegler and his wife, Bridget, the founder of conservative activist group Moms for Liberty. The woman, who had had previous hookups with the couple, canceled the encounter that day upon learning that Bridget could not attend.
However, according to police reports, the accuser opened her door to walk her dog and found Ziegler standing outside. The chairman allegedly pushed his way into the apartment and raped the woman in her kitchen before leaving.
Police are also investigating whether Ziegler recorded the incident, which would constitute a separate felony charge of video voyeurism.
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Despite Ziegler’s claims that the encounter was consensual, other members of the Florida Republican Party, including Governor DeSantis, called on him to resign over the “bad optics” of the situation. Between the allegations against Ziegler and the hypocrisy of his wife for engaging in same-sex behavior as an anti-LGBT activist, the Party decided that backing the chairman was no longer worth the trouble.
Ziegler resisted the pressure and refused to step down, leading the Party to strip him of all power last month and reduce his $120,000 annual salary to just $1. Vice Chairman Evan Power temporarily took up his responsibilities.
Monday’s closed-door vote, which returned a result of 199-3, officially ousted Ziegler from his position, and a separate vote installed Power as his permanent replacement.
“We have to build that trust back long-term,” Power said. “I think what we have to do is go to our larger donors right now to ask for their help and assistance. And we can build that trust back because we can prove we are bigger than one person. We moved on as fast and as efficiently as we could. And now we are here in a new chapter and [with] a new chairman.”
Members of the Florida GOP expressed relief that the embattled chairman had been removed.
“A year ago we expected to be in a very different position at the beginning of 2024,” said Debbie Galvin, a Party committeewoman from Orange County. “We need to get this behind us and start paying attention to this important election year.”
The Party also celebrated Power’s appointment, promising that his leadership “will Keep Florida RED, deliver Florida’s 30 electoral votes to the GOP presidential candidate, and elect Republicans up and down the ballot.”
Congratulations to our new Chairman, @EvanPower. Under his strong leadership, we will Keep Florida RED, deliver Florida’s 30 electoral votes to the GOP presidential candidate, and elect Republicans up and down the ballot. Let’s get to work! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/DqceF2gNxa
— Florida GOP (@FloridaGOP) January 8, 2024
Connor Walcott is a staff writer covering politics, culture, and business for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X (Twitter).
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