Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) Chair Evan Power is running for U.S. Congress in Florida’s 2nd U.S. Congressional District but hopes to keep his position in charge of RPOF in a conflict of interest that may give him an unfair advantage for stacking the deck in favor of his own political ambitions. The DeSantis-aligned Chair has his underlings on the RPOF Executive Committee scrambling to hastily change the rules in order to allow Power to remain in the position, creating new layers of bureaucracy that would separate Power from crucial functions within the Party – at least on paper.
“With a minimum of 10 day notice, I’m calling a special meeting of the Constitution and Rules Committee for Monday, February 9th at 5:30 PM. There will be one item on the agenda, to review and approve a new Rule 33 that governs how certain money is raised by the Republican Party of Florida when the Chairman is running for office and is a member of Congress. Given that Chairman Power has filed to run for Congress, the rule must be taken up post-haste,” wrote Stafford Jones, Chairman of the RPOF Constitution and Rules Committee, in a Jan. 29 email.
The new rule, obtained by Populist Sentinel, would sanction a Special Committee to administer the RPOF’s State Account. The Special Committee would have full control over contributions and fundraising, expenditures and disbursements, and personnel and contractors. The proposed rule change makes it clear that while running for Congress, Power would keep the ability to solicit funds on behalf of the RPOF’s non-state Federal Account, solicit additional funds in amounts and from sources permissible under the Act, campaign for or support non-Federal candidates in accordance with RPOF rules. The Special Committee given authority would include the RPOF Treasurer and up to 5 members of the RPOF State Executive Committee.
It is believed by critics of this scheme that this would be a handpicked group giving a false veneer of objectivity when in actuality would be controlled by Power and his henchmen like Jones. Power’s allies within the RPOF are attempting to enact this rule to circumvent long-standing federal regulations against this type of behavior. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 states that no federal officeholder and no “entity directly or indirectly established, financed, maintained or controlled by or acting on behalf” of a federal officeholder shall “solicit, receive, direct, transfer, or spend funds in connection with any election other than an election for Federal office or disburse funds in connection with such an election.”
These shady, quasi-legal tactics that are in the process of being rammed through the RPOF Constitution and Rules Committee are typical of the DeSantis circle that currently lords over the RPOF. Power was hand-picked by Gov. DeSantis for the role of Chair and has cultivated an inner circle of allies involved in alleged corruption. Power’s lieutenant, Stewart Jones, also serves as Chairman of the Leading For Our Future PAC and has been accused of violating IRS laws to funnel up to $3 million of illicit money into political campaigns. These allegations certainly give Jones a lot in common with the Florida Governor, whose wife Casey infamously used her Hope Florida nonprofit as a political slush fund for an anti-marijuana campaign run by Florida’s current Attorney General James Uthmeier.
The corruption in the Florida Republican swamp runs deep. If they successfully pull off their power grab during tomorrow’s meeting, it will give Power and the rest of the DeSantis gang an unfair advantage in fixing the political process to continue their power. These tactics must be rejected and the rule change must be voted down to ensure election integrity in Florida throughout this year’s midterm cycle.
