Evan Power logged more than 332,000 miles over seven years driving across the state before becoming chair of the Republican Party of Florida.
He’s expected to be easily reelected to that post on Saturday, Jan. 11, at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando. Last January he won a special election to replace Christian Ziegler, who had resigned amid sexual misconduct allegations.
Power, 43, of Tallahassee, is an expert at grassroots politics with a 16-year track record as a Republican activist. Today he leads a Republican Party in a state with virtually no effective opposition.
To put it bluntly, Republicans largely own Florida, politically speaking, and Power’s job is to make sure it stays that way.
He rose to the top of the party’s leadership through years of promoting the state party in each of Florida’s 67 counties as what was called “the chair of chairs,” a position in which he was a sort of boss of bosses among the county’s party chiefs.
Power attended scores of Lincoln Dinners, fundraising events traditionally held by Republican Party organizations and named after Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president. He has lost count of county executive committee meetings where he spoke, and routinely agreed to speak wherever and whenever he was invited.
At the Tallahassee meeting held to replace Ziegler, Power was at the door of the conference hall, holding it open for state committee members and greeting them by name.
More:Evan Power says being both party chair, lobbyist is natural fit to strengthen Florida GOP
Power plays “old-school politics in the best sense,” University of Central Florida political scientist Aubrey Jewett said at the time, showing up in person, “not virtually … (that) establishes relationships. It’s politics the way it used to be.”
Under Power this past year, the GOP registered more than 350,000 new voters, according to state records, and now have a 1.1 million voter registration advantage over the Democrats.
Republicans also regained the supermajority status in the Florida House and Senate lost in the 2016 election and provided U.S. Sen. Rick Scott a 12-point reelection victory, his first win by more than a 1-point margin in his four statewide elections.
It may have been a red-wave election for Republicans, but the statewide results are consistent with the performance of the Leon County GOP, which Power led since 2014. Last month, Leon Republicans elected his successor, Andrew Wiggins, as the new Leon County GOP chair.
Although outnumbered 2–1 by Democrats in Leon County voter registration, the Leon GOP has outpaced Democrats in voter turnout and registration every election cycle since 2014, reclaimed a state Senate seat Democrats had held since the end of Reconstruction, and elected a Republican to the nonpartisan school board.
Power, a former aide to then-state Rep. Marco Rubio, graduated from Florida State University in 2004 and started to show up in local media in 2009, questioning how the city of Tallahassee spent money. He organized a “Tallahassee Citizens Against a Property Tax Increase” Facebook page.
He soon got elected county chair and wrote commentaries criticizing the Democrat-dominated Tallahassee city government.
In a rebuttal to a column headlined “A Capital Embarrassment” by the Tallahassee Democrat’s then-metro columnist Gerald Ensley, in which he criticized those attacking the city’s response to Hurricane Hermine, Power asked why Ensley “would want to shame us into silence” for questioning the government’s performance.
Power wrote, “Sorry, Mr. Ensley: you will not silence us anymore.”
Nine years later, Power is the head of what may be the most influential state party in the nation. A Republican holds every statewide elected office and President-elect Donald Trump has (so far) named five Florida Republicans to his staff and cabinet.
Q. What is the driving force in Florida politics right now?
A: Since COVID, Florida has been seen as a beacon of freedom for the country. Thousands of people have poured into Florida and our voter registration has shifted to a 1.1 million Republican advantage. Now we are a red state, and we must chart a path to continue that leadership and continue to grow the party.
Q. What is your mission statement for the Florida Republican Party?
A: The mission of the party is to fight (for) every seat. We have to empower our local parties to continue to elect every Republican possible so that we continue to build a deep bench, which will allow us to keep delivering conservative leadership for years to come.
Q. What is the most important thing you do as state party chair?
A: Fundraising is always the most important job. Everything we do from fighting radical constitutional amendments to winning local races is made easier when we can raise money and empower our grassroots to go out and work for the team.
Bonus question: You have traveled all 67 counties and worked with county executive committees. Where in Florida can one find the best barbecue?
A: The smaller the county the better the food. You get locally cooked dinners in some small counties, which is a nice break from the rubber chicken dinners that most banquets have. The two highlights of county dinners are the steaks in Hamilton County, and the barbecue steaks in Jackson County.
James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahassee
