Florida’s Republican Party has formally pushed out its embattled former chairman Christian Ziegler amid rape allegations.
During an emergency meeting on Monday, the party voted to elevate Evan Power, who previously served as vice chair, to replace Ziegler.
“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!” the state party wrote on X.
Power had assumed many of Ziegler’s duties after the party reduced the former chairman’s responsibilities last month amid the controversy. He launched his bid for the chairmanship last month.
Ziegler had previously bested Power in last year’s battle to become the Florida GOP’s chairman and assumed the mantle in February last year.
In November, a report revealed that Ziegler was under criminal investigation by the Sarasota Police Department.
A woman, who claims to have known Ziegler and his wife for two decades, accused him of raping her a month prior inside her Sarasota home on Oct. 2, 2023.
Ziegler has professed his innocence and insisted that his actions were consensual. At the moment, he has not been charged with a crime.
The incident has garnered national attention in part because his wife Bridget Ziegler is a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, which works to elect conservative mothers onto school boards.
She is not accused of wrongdoing in the matter.
However, she has admitted that she, her husband, and the alleged victim previously partook in a three-way sexual escapade about a year prior, Politico reported.
The Moms for Liberty co-founder had taken a victory lap for helping to craft the controversial Parental Rights in Education Act, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics, which restricted classroom instruction about gender identity up to the third grade.
Recently, the Sarasota County Police Department began investigating whether Christian Ziegler illegally filmed the alleged encounter, NBC reported.
Christian Ziegler had been under mounting pressure for weeks to step aside amid the scandal.
Top Florida Republicans such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Rep. Matt Gaetz, as well as Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott have urged him to step down.
Bridget Ziegler has weathered similar pressure over her role on the Sarasota School Board.
The Post contacted the Florida Republican Party for comment.
Christian Ziegler’s ouster comes as Republicans in Michigan voted over the weekend to dethrone its chairwoman Kristina Karamo over lackluster fundraising numbers.