Harmeet Dhillon endorses Christian Ziegler for Florida GOP chairman

Amber Jo Cooper contributed to this report

TALLAHASSEE (FLV) – Former RNC chair candidate Harmeet Dhillon endorsed current state GOP Vice Chairman Christian Ziegler to be the next chairman of the Florida Republican Party.

Chair of Leon County Republican Party Evan Power is running against Ziegler for state GOP chairman to replace outgoing Joe Gruters.

Ziegler, who threw his hat into the race in December, said that Gruters has done a good job as chairman and that he is ready to fill that seat.

For me, it’s very appealing because obviously I have been vice chairman and have been on the ground helping throughout, but now to be able to take the lead is a passion of mine.

I’m very aggressive. I think until we have every Democrat out of office, our work does not stop. I want to continue to move the state of Florida to the right and continue to make it darker and darker in ruby red and be able to support Governor DeSantis in his legislative agenda. If I could wake up every day and my job is to go after Democrats and stopping the destruction that they are trying to impose on our local community/state/country, that’s a dream job for me.

Christian Ziegler to Florida’s Voice

Ziegler said he is a firm believer in the U.S. Constitution, limited government, less taxes, individual freedom and responsibility, free enterprise, and family values.

He was elected to serve as Sarasota County’s State Committeeman in 2012 and was re-elected without opposition in 2016.

During the 2016 presidential election, Ziegler served as a media surrogate for the Donald Trump campaign and as a delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention.

Ziegler said on his list going forward, the GOP needs to focus on local races, unite as a party and provide a supporting role for DeSantis.

“We have these liberals that get elected in conservative areas and there’s no rhyme or reason to why this should occur,” Ziegler said.

“I know the presidential is going to get the headlines but a lot of times, these local races impact your life even more than what Washington does.”

Power responded to Dhillon’s endorsement of Ziegler.

“It matters little to me what Californians think about the Republican Party of Florida, I’m more interested in talking to the Florida committee people who have made Florida a success.”

Power started his career working for the now-Senator Marco Rubio in the Florida House of Representatives, serving both in the Majority Office and the Procedures and Policy Office where he left after serving as the Legislative Analyst. In 2010, he was elected vice chairman of the Leon County Republican Party and in 2014, he was elected chairman.

Power, who first announced his run in November, said despite having big victories, there are places the GOP can improve and increase turnout.

I think one of the things we have to focus on and keep people motivated on is we don’t have a majority in every school board, we don’t have a majority in every city commission, or county commission. So we need to win those races because if you look at what Democrats are doing, they’re trying to govern on the local level and un-do what we’re doing on a state level. So we have to emphasize those races and work hard to win majorities on all of those commissions.

Evan Power to Florida’s Voice

On Power’s to-do list, he said they must continue raising money for the party itself, build infrastructure, increase training, equip precinct committeemen and women to work their precincts, and increase Republican turnout in the years to come.

Ronna McDaniel was reelected to her position as Republican National Committee chairwoman after the vote was held Jan. 27.

A day before the vote, Gov. Ron DeSantis chimed in, praising Dhillon’s calls for moving the RNC’s headquarters out of Washington, D.C.

“We’ve had three substandard election cycles in a row, 18, 20 and 22. And I would say of all three of those 22 was probably the worst given the the political environment of a very unpopular president […] That is an environment that’s tailor-made to make big gains in the House and the Senate and state houses across the country,” DeSantis said. “And yet, that didn’t happen.”

“We even lost ground in the U.S. Senate. And so, you know, I think we need a change. I think we need to get some new blood in the RNC. I like what Harmeet Dhillon has said about getting the RNC out of D.C.”

McDaniel received 111 of 167 votes and Dhillon received 51. Mike Lindell received four, and former New York gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin received one.