News Clips
Congressional Shooting Ignites Gun Debate
“…Ziegler, though, said instead of relatively leaping into debates about gun control, officials should consider how to make it easier for law-abiding citizens to carry and defend themselves from criminals.”
GOP mocks national Dems for ‘zero chance’ of beating Vern Buchanan in 2018
By Mitch Perry Posted May 27, 2017 Though the 2018 congressional elections are still a year and a half away, the news headlines continue to make Democrats believe that 2018 will be a wave election that could see them take over the House of Representatives. It...
Wishful thinking? Dems say they’re targeting Buchanan
By Zac Anderson, Political Editor Posted May 27, 2017 at 9:38 PM Southwest Florida Democrats eager to capitalize on President Donald Trump’s troubles were thrilled by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s announcement last week that it is targeting the...
Sarasota GOP Doubles Down On Sanctuary City Criticism
By Alex Mahadevan, News Innovation Editor Posted May 1, 2017 As early voting kicked off in the runoff election for two City Commission seats Monday, the Republican Party of Sarasota County hosted a rally in support of the lone registered Republican in the race in...
Sanctuary City Protesters Filled Area Streets
By: Bobeth Yates Posted May 1, 2017 SARASOTA FL (WWSB) -- Protesters and counter protesters took to the streets of downtown Sarasota. The groups were voicing their concerns about the possibility of Sarasota becoming a sanctuary city. "No hate, no fare,...
Trump’s Flip-Flops Concern Some Supporters, But Not Others
By Nancy Benac What's wrong with being flexible? All presidents change their minds. He's only human. President Donald Trump's voters can be a forgiving lot — up to a point. "He thinks too fast and then makes decisions too fast," says Miriam Naranjo in...
Voters Forgive Trump’s Reversals — To A Point
By AP What is wrong with being flexible? All presidents change their minds. He is only human. President Donald Trump’s voters can be a forgiving lot — up to a point. “He thinks too fast and then makes decisions too fast,” said Miriam Naranjo in...
Exclusive — Progressives Plan To Storm Trump-Like GOP Congressman’s Town Hall By The Thousands To Disrupt President’s Agenda
By Matthew Boyle SARASOTA, Florida — Thousands of professional progressive protesters are plotting to disrupt a town hall event for Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) here on Saturday morning, Breitbart News has learned, as part of a grander effort to grind down President...
Protesters Demand Rep. Buchanan Hold Town Hall
By Kate Flexter Across the nation constituents have been going out to congressional town halls and demanding answers from their elected officials. It's no different here on the Suncoast, except not every congressman is holding a town hall. One by one protesters...
Scott-Corcoran Battle Embroiled in Behind-the-Scenes RPOF Drama
By Allison Nielsen Don’t expect a kumbaya moment between Gov. Rick Scott and House Speaker Richard Corcoran anytime soon. On Tuesday, the two sharpened their blades and readied for battle, setting the stage for the expected rocky legislative session. But their drama...
Businesses On The Suncoast Show Solidarity For ‘Day Without Immigrants’
By Adam Cellini Around the country, immigrants stayed home from work Thursday as part of a "Day without Immigrants" protest. The movement began on social media as an effort to show what life would be like without immigrants in this country in response to more...
Local Activists Urge Congressman Vern Buchanan To Change Stance On Trump’s Travel Ban
By Kate Flexter For now, President Trump's controversial travel ban remains on hold after a federal appeals court on Sunday denied the Justice Department's request to reinstate Trump's executive order. The order bans travelers from seven predominantly Muslim...
Floridians Head To D.C. For Donald Trump Inauguration
By Staff Reports A hush has fallen on the state capital. Sure, there’s plenty of work to do before the start of the 2017 Legislative Session. But some Florida politicos are using this week to flee Florida and head to Washington, D.C., for President-elect Donald...
Breitbart Obtains Controversial Expenditures List In Fight For Control Of Florida GOP
By Lee Stranahan The chairmanship of the Florida Republican party is up for grabs January 14th, and Breitbart News has obtained a list of potentially controversial reimbursements that could impact the race between incumbent chairman, Florida representative and Marco...
Ziegler Running Hard
By Zac Anderson Florida Democrats aren’t the only ones choosing a new leader in Orlando next week. Florida Republicans will gather at the same time Saturday morning in a nearby hotel to pick a new chairman, and Christian Ziegler plans to campaign hard for the job...
Trump Guy Should Beat Rubio Guy In FloridaGOP Chairman Race
Will the Trump movement consolidate its power in the wake of historic victory?
Christian Ziegler Contends The Race For Florida GOP Chair Will Be A Close Contest
By Mitch Perry Christian Ziegler says the idea of challenging Blaise Ingoglia for leadership of the Republican Party of Florida first came to his mind last May. He was presiding over a gathering of the state’s Republican committeemen and committeewomen at the party’s...
Christian Ziegler Revels in Underdog Label for RPOF Chair
By Allison Nielsen Christian Ziegler says he shouldn’t be underestimated. The 33-year-old Sarasota Republican committeeman is widely viewed as an underdog in the race to become the Republican Party of Florida’s next chairman, but Ziegler says that couldn’t be...
Donald Trump Is OFFICIALLY The President-Elect
By Blake Neff Donald Trump officially became president-elect Donald Trump shortly after 3:30 pm Monday, as he secured a majority of the Electoral College vote and easily overcame a last-ditch effort by protesters to keep him out of the White House. Despite...
How To Contact Your State’s Electors Before The Electoral College Votes
By Amrita Khalid The pressure is building against the Electoral College just days before it votes for the 45th president of the United States. President-elect Donald Trump may have lost the popular vote by more than 2.8 million votes and counting—but his 306...
Are Florida’s Political Parties Relevant Anymore?
By Adam Smith There's an old saying among university faculty members that politics in academia are so vicious because the stakes are so low. The expression came to mind watching the impressively Machiavellian maneuvers of assorted Democratic and Republican...
Rubio Endorses Ingoglia for RPOF Chair While Ziegler Builds Cross-State Ground Game
By Allison Nielsen Republican Party of Florida chairman Blaise Ingoglia continues to rack up the endorsements for a second bid at party chair, reeling in the support of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio on Wednesday, but Ingoglia's opponent, Christian Ziegler, says to not count...
Entwined In Politics, Christian Ziegler Seeks State Position
To say that Christian Ziegler lives and breathes GOP politics may be an understatement. Take the birth of his oldest daughter. First there’s her name, Reagan, selected in part to honor the president still revered by so many within the GOP. Then there’s her fan mail,...
Sarasota Republican Challenges RPOF Chairman For Post
By Jeremy Wallace A Sarasota County Republican announced Thursday that he will challenge Blaise Ingoglia to become the next chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. Christian Ziegler, a state committeeman from Sarasota since 2012, announced in an email to GOP...
Christian Ziegler Announces His Candidacy For Republican Party Of Florida Chair
By Mitch Perry Christian Ziegler, the 33-year-old state committeeman for the Sarasota Republican Party, has announced his candidacy for chair of the Republican Party of Florida. “As we turn the page from the election, we have a lot of work to do over the next two...
Here Are The People Who Will Cast The Formal Vote For President Next Month
By Kyle Cheny On Dec. 19, the 538 members of the Electoral College (or their alternates) will meet in their state capitals to ratify the results of the presidential election. Here are the people who will cast the formal votes for president in each state....
Florida’s Presidential Electors, From Brian Ballard To Nan Rich
By Steve Bousquet Okay, Florida, who's it going to be? Brian Ballard or Nan Rich? Bob Buckhorn or Joe Gruters? Attorney General Pam Bondi or Arthenia Joyner? These are the stark choices Floridians face as they go to the polls on Election Day. Legally...
Suncoast Residents Excited About Election Day On Tuesday
By Rick Adams It's Election Day on the Suncoast and nationwide. Many key races will be decided including the heated presidential race. "Whether you vote for Hillary or whether you vote for Trump, I just want you to vote," said Sondra Laroche, a Trump supporter....
Good Week For Trump In Florida
By Zac Anderson “If we don’t win, we’re cooked.” That’s how one unnamed insider on Donald Trump’s presidential campaign described Florida’s importance in the race in a Bloomberg Businessweek article last week. The article noted that Trump’s team is using...
Florida GOP Holds “Victory Dinner,” Loudly Counts Chickens Before Eggs Hatch
By Brandon Larrabee With their presidential nominee under a cloud of sexual-assault allegations, Florida Republican leaders gathered Saturday at one end of the critical I-4 corridor for their fundraising "Victory Dinner" before a final push toward the November...
Republican Club Reunites For Season
By Kate Johns Members dined at the Longboat Key Club Harbourside Ballroom and listened to Christian Ziegler speak. The Republican Club of Longboat Key held its first meeting of the season Oct. 5. Guests enjoyed a reception before dinner at the Longboat Key Club...
Where The Votes Are: On to November
By Jacob Ogles Political leaders left an SRQ-led Where The Votes Are event anxious to find ways to motivate voters to polls this year. The precinct-by-precinct analysis of the August 30 primary elections in Sarasota and Manatee counties showed voters registered with...
School Board Race: Divided By Party Lines
By Anna Brugmann Caroline Zucker will continue to sit on the school board, but fears linger regard political parties' participation in school board races. Sarasota County School Board races are technically nonpartisan, but this year’s race between incumbent Caroline...
Carlos Beruff Pours More Cash Into School Board Race
By Alex Mahadevan The candidates for the District 2 seat on the Sarasota County School Board raised a combined $13,200 in the last full week of fundraising before the Aug. 30 election, and spent more than $33,200 in pursuit of the position. More than one-third...
Political Perceptions Plague Superintendent Search
By Anna Brugmann Even if she emerges victorious in the Aug. 30 primary for the District 2 Sarasota County School Board seat, Teresa Mast will not be able to vote on the district’s next superintendent. The School Board plans to select Superintendent Lori White’s...
Changing Times Affect Battle For State Senate Seat
By Zac Anderson It's a seat long held by Republicans known for pushing back against other Republicans. Abortion, the environment, education reforms – GOP state senators from Sarasota County often resisted the more conservative elements of their party on such...
Sarasota-Bradenton Delegates Enjoy Historic RNC
By Jacob Ogles For Joe Gruters, attending the Republican National Convention means more than an exciting trip to a political event in Ohio. The chairman of the Republican Party of Sarasota has enjoyed one of the most important years of his political life, having...
As Democrats Target Trump In Florida, Questions About His Campaign Organization
By Zac Anderson Allies of likely Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton already are launching a series of sustained and targeted attacks on GOP nominee Donald Trump in key swing states — including Florida — in an early attempt to cripple his general election...
Early Attacks On Trump In Florida Won’t Stick Says GOP Activist
By Zac Anderson Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump already is coming under fire in Florida from a Super PAC supporting likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, but Trump supporter Christian Ziegler says he's not worried about the candidate being outgunned...
GOP Faithful Line Up Behind Trump
By Dara Kam With varying degrees of enthusiasm at times overshadowed by resignation, Florida Republican leaders are girding themselves for a must-win battle this fall as they work to coalesce support for their party’s presumptive presidential nominee, Donald Trump....
Vocal Donald Trump Critics Picked As Florida Delegates To GOP Convention
By Adam Smith In the end, everybody wound up reasonably happy over the Republican National Convention delegates selected saturday by the state GOP's executive board. Behind the scenes, however, there was a fair amount of tension and brewing animosity in recent...
Florida GOP Picks Its Final Delegates To Convention This Summer
By Mitch Perry Republican Party of Florida Chairman Blaise Ingoglia on Saturday selected the 15 delegates and 15 alternates chosen as at-large delegates who had yet to be determined to be part of the state’s contingent of 99 delegates that will represent the Sunshine...
Rubio’s Florida Finale
By David Cantanese Four days before the Florida presidential primary, Marco Rubio was already being asked about his next race. “Senator Rubio, if this campaign does not end with you winning the nomination, is the door open to you running for governor in Florida?”...
Presidential Central – Florida Offers Republicans The Season’s Greatest Prize.
By Jacob Ogles It’s been more than 15 years since the late Tim Russert famously held up a dry erase board with his list of important things political observers should follow to understand the 2000 election. The NBC pundit presciently suggested the entire election...
Bush’s Departure Should Lift Rubio
By Zac Anderson The expected flood of Jeb Bush backers into Marco Rubio’s camp should provide a big lift for the Florida senator’s presidential bid, nowhere more so than in his home state. Much of Florida’s Republican political establishment has been loyal to...
Beruff Considering U.S. Senate Run
By Zac Anderson Manatee County homebuilder Carlos Beruff has steadily increased his profile in recent years as a conservative reformer on various government boards. His next step could be a big leap into the spotlight as a Republican U.S. Senate candidate. ...
Planned Parenthood’s Barbara Zdravecky Gears Up for Battle
By Kim Hackett Barbara Zdravecky keeps Sun Tzu’s The Art of War on her coffee table, which might seem an odd choice for someone who has dedicated her life to women’s health. But in 22 years of leading Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, Zdravecky has...
Gruters To Lead Trump Campaign In Florida, Which Will Have Office In Sarasota
By Zac Anderson Donald Trump’s presidential campaign announced Friday that it will open an office in Sarasota and that local GOP chairman Joe Gruters is joining the Trump team as the Florida chairman. “My message is clearly resonating in Florida,” Trump said in...
Wide Open Race For Rubio’s Seat
By Zac Anderson With no big names running and the presidential election contest drawing most of the media attention, Florida’s U.S. Senate race has been quiet so far. One recent poll found that none of the candidates vying to replace Sen. Marco Rubio have...
Protesters Rally Outside Sarasota Planned Parenthood
By Christopher Brantley Protesters rallied outside of the Sarasota Planned Parenthood office Saturday. Passionate protesters on both sides of the spectrum challenged the ongoing controversy, holding signs that read “babies are people too” and “my body my...
