Members of the Florida Republican Party are balking at reported attempts by some to generate a $2 million buyout for embattled party Chairman Christian Ziegler.
A report from Florida Politics suggests that members of the party have entertained a buyout for Ziegler, something he has denied. Several Republicans in the state have expressed their concern over the reports ahead of a party meeting on Sunday to decide the fate of Ziegler as party chairman.
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“My first thought when I heard it was I laughed, and so did the person who told me what was being discussed or asked,” Lee County Republican Executive Committee Chairman Michael Thompson told the Washington Post. “There will never be a buyout.”
Another Republican, state Rep. Spencer Roach, said Ziegler "deserves nothing" and that Ziegler getting a buyout would be "the worst form of political grift."
“I would be vehemently opposed to giving one single dime of donor money to make him go away,” Roach said. “He deserves nothing, he should get nothing, and he should not be able to profit one penny off of discrediting the party. This is the worst form of political grift.”
Ziegler and his wife, who serves on the Sarasota County School Board, have been called on to resign from their respective positions amid the scandal, in which the Florida GOP chairman is under police investigation for alleged sexual battery.
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Most prominent Republicans in the state have called on Ziegler to resign as party leader, including Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), state Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, state House Speaker Paul Renner, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), and other statewide GOP leaders. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined the chorus of those calling on Ziegler to resign on Friday after previously deferring to party leadership.
"The conduct the Florida GOP Chair has now himself admitted to makes it impossible for him to continue in his position. If he refuses to unconditionally step down he should be immediately suspended & then permanently replaced at the quarterly state party meeting next month," Rubio said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.