Florida Republican Party Boots Chairman Amid Rape Investigation
HuffPost
Christian Ziegler is accused of raping a woman with whom he and his wife, an outspoken anti-LGBTQ+ advocate, had a prior consensual sexual relationship.
In a special meeting Monday, the Florida Republican Party removed its chairman amid a police investigation into allegations he raped a woman with whom he and his wife had previously engaged in consensual sex.
Christian Ziegler had resisted calls for his resignation from other top Republicans in the state, forcing the emergency closed-door vote that led to his ouster.
In a subsequent vote, the committee elected Vice Chairman Evan Power to fill Ziegler’s seat.
The political infighting has sparked alarm among Florida Republicans, who acknowledged the state plays a pivotal role in the party’s national ambitions.
“We have to move past this and have to focus on 2024,” state Sen. Joe Gruters, who preceded Ziegler as party chair, told the AP.