In the wake of a sweep of five statewide races and the election of GOP supermajorities in the Florida House and Senate, Leon County Republican Executive Committee Chair Evan Power launched a challenge to state party chair, Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota.
Power told the Tallahassee Democrat when the party gathers in a statewide meeting in January, he will pursue the state chairmanship.
The 41-year-old lobbyist with the Ramba Consulting Group has led local Republicans since 2014, with the GOP voter turnout increasing each election cycle.
Tuesday, local Republican turnout was 11 points higher than Democrats – 69% to 58%.
The Republican rise:
Leon Republicans helped defeat an incumbent Democratic congressman, flipped a state Senate seat, and elected a county school board member in a non-partisan race.
It was the local party’s best night of the modern era and came while statewide Republicans had an epic performance that solidified GOP control of Florida.
“The Free State of Florida just had one of the most conservative election nights in generations. But there is no time to rest in politics. The race for the White House in 2024 begins now and begins in Florida,” said Power in announcing his intentions.
Gruters did not respond to a request for a comment for this story.
He reportedly has said he has yet to decide whether to seek reelection and told Florida Politics there was, “No timeline on a decision yet.”
Power has served as the party’s Chair of Chairs the past two years, traveling the state and engaging in party building activities – such as encouraging voter registration drives, canvassing, and phone banking for candidates.
He had sought the state chair before but after the 2018 election Gov. Ron DeSantis endorsed Gruters for the position.
Under Gruters’ leadership the GOP grew membership by 540,686 voters, wiping out the 281,000 voter advantage Democrats had in 2018 and tilting registration to the GOP by nearly 260,000.
When oaths of office are taken in January it will mark the first time since Reconstruction there is no Democrat in a statewide office.
Republican state committee men, committee women, and county chairs will begin to organize for 2024 in January and elect a new chair.
Power intends to explain the party needs a full-time chair to prepare for the upcoming presidential election.
“That is my pledge to the voting members of this party from morning to night, my only focus will be to prepare for the challenge of the upcoming elections of 2023 and 2024,” Power said.
Gruters, a certified public accountant, was reelected to a second Senate term Tuesday. He had served as chair of the Education Committee, the vice chair of the Governmental Oversight Committee, and had a seat on the Rules, Banking, Commerce and Regulated industries committees.
When pressed to state his intentions, Florida Politics reported he sent a video clip of Leonardo DeCaprio’s character in “Wolves of Wall Street” saying, “I’m not leaving” to a crowded office.
James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahassee
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