Florida Republicans Oust Chair

“The Republican Party of Florida ousted its chairman on Monday, more than a month after the police in Sarasota confirmed that he was under criminal investigation for sexual assault,” the New York Times reports.

“For weeks, Christian Ziegler, the chairman, resisted calls for him to step down, keeping the scandal in the headlines and exasperating Republicans who insisted that he could not survive the political repercussions of such a serious accusation. In mid-December, the state party’s executive committee censured Mr. Ziegler and stripped him of his duties and annual salary of $120,000 after Gov. Ron DeSantis, U.S. Senator Rick Scott and some county-level Republican chairs had urged him to go.”

“Mr. Ziegler was removed by a voice vote of about 200 party members during a meeting in Tallahassee. Only a handful opposed the motion, which included a statement saying that Mr. Ziegler was no longer a member in good standing with the party.”