Republican Party of Florida | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairman | Evan Power |
| Governor | Ron DeSantis |
| Senate President | Ben Albritton |
| Speaker of the House | Daniel Perez |
| Senate Majority Leader | Jim Boyd |
| Florida House Majority Leader | Tyler Sirois |
| Founded | 1867; 158 years ago (1867) |
| Headquarters | 420 E. Jefferson Street Tallahassee, FL 32301 |
| Student wing | FloridaCollege Republicans |
| Youth wing | FloridaYoung Republicans FloridaTeen Age Republicans |
| Women's wing | Florida Federation of Republican Women |
| Membership(2024) |  5,635,902[1] |
| Ideology | |
| National affiliation | Republican Party |
| Colors | Red |
| Senate | 26 / 40 |
| House of Representatives | 86 / 120 |
| Statewide Executive Offices | 6 / 6 |
| U.S. Senate | 2 / 2 (Florida seats) |
| U.S. House of Representatives | 20 / 28 (Florida seats) |
| Election symbol | |
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| Website | |
| www.florida.gop | |
TheRepublican Party of Florida (RPOF), also called theFlorida Republican Party, is the affiliate of theRepublican Party in theU.S. state ofFlorida. It is currently the state's dominant party, controlling 20 out of 28 of Florida'sU.S. House seats, bothU.S. Senate seats, thegovernorship and all other statewide offices, and has supermajorities in both houses of thestate legislature.[3]
The Republican Party held power in state politics during theReconstruction era after the American Civil War and included African American legislators and officials. Democrats regained power in Florida and across the South until the 1960s.[citation needed]
Several of Florida's governors and U.S. senators were Republican after the Civil War during theReconstruction era. There were RepublicanAfrican American officeholders from the end of the Civil War until before 1900 in Florida. The Republican Convention of 1867 in Tallahassee was the first statewide convention of Republicans.[4]Josiah T. Walls was a delegate to the convention.
Harrison Reed organized the Union Republican Club in Jacksonville and sent a delegation to theNational Union National Convention in 1864.[5] After theAmerican Civil War black Republicans mainly joined theUnion League organized by Daniel Richards andWilliam U. Saunders. Richards was able to have pro-black rights resolutions passed at conventions. Reed stated they were "pandering to Negroes".[6]
Richards, Saunders, andLiberty Billings campaigned for black support for the1868 Florida Constitutional Convention.Edward McPherson, Clerk of theUnited States House of Representatives withdrew printing contracts from the "Radical Republican" supportingJacksonville Florida Times,[7] it later went bankrupt, instead supporting the moderateFlorida Union. Richards accusedFreedmen's Bureau officials of working against him.
Richards and Saunders' wing controlled a majority of the delegates at the constitutional convention.[8][9] They submitted their proposedconstitution toGeorge Meade and held a nomination convention that selected a gubernatorial ticket of Billings and Saunders andJonathan Clarkson Gibbs forFlorida's at-large congressional district. However, Reed's faction, claiming that the Radicals did not have a quorum, held another meeting and received support from Meade, who later approved their constitution. The Radical's constitution made most local and state offices elected while the moderate's constitution made those offices appointed and reduce representation of black counties in the state legislature. The Florida Radicals failed to gather support in Congress for their constitution, with evenBenjamin Butler supporting the moderate's constitution.[9] The constitution was approved by voters in 1868.[10]
Democrats regained control of Florida's state politics and across the South. Their control lasted until 1966 whenClaude R. Kirk, Jr. was elected. He became the first Republican governor elected in the state since the 19th century Reconstruction era. Since 1960, the state only voted Democratic in the presidential elections in 1964 (Lyndon B. Johnson), 1976 (Jimmy Carter), 1996 (Bill Clinton), 2008 and 2012 (Barack Obama). The2000 presidential election was decided by a margin of 537 votes out of approximately 6 million cast, givingGeorge W. Bush the presidency overAl Gore.Richard Nixon'sSouthern Strategy, which took advantage of objections to the advances of theAmerican Civil Rights Movement.[citation needed] This resulted in a regional politicalrealignment for theSouthern United States. The number of people registered with the party rose from 116,000 in 1952 to 1,139,000 in 1976.[11]
The Florida Senate was still dominated by Democrats until 1992, when a majority of Republicans was elected. The Florida House of Representatives turned Republican after the November 1996 election. Since then, the number of Democrats in both chambers have continued to drop.
The Florida Legislature became the first legislature in any of the states of the formerConfederacy to come under complete Republican control when the Republicans gained control of the House and Senate in the 1996 election. In the 2006 election the Democrats actually gained seats in the State House, the first instance of this occurring since the early 1980s.
In the2014 gubernatorial election, the Republican nominee wasGovernorRick Scott. He defeated the Democratic nominee, former governorCharlie Crist, who was once elected as a Republican.
The Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida is Evan Power, elected by RPOF members in January 2024.
TheRepublican National Committee (RNC) is responsible for promoting Republican campaign activities, developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. SenatorMel Martinez of Florida is the party's former General Chairman.Michael Whatley is the current Chairman of RNC. The chairman of the RNC is chosen by the President when the Republicans have the White House and otherwise by the Party's state committees. The RNC, under the direction of the party's presidential candidate, supervises theRepublican National Convention, raises funds, and coordinates campaign strategy. On the local level there are similar state committees in every state and most large cities, counties and legislative districts, but they have far less money and influence than the national body.
The Republican House and Senate caucuses have separatefund raising and strategy committees. TheNational Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) assists in House races, and theNational Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) in Senate races. They each raise over $100 million per election cycle, and play important roles in recruiting strong state candidates. TheRepublican Governors Association (RGA) is a discussion group that seldom funds state races.
The membership of the party is primarily made up offiscal conservatives,social conservatives,neoconservatives, and members of theChristian right.
Republicans favorfree-market policies supporting business and oppose increases to the minimum wage.
Republicans are generally opposed to asingle-payer healthcare system, such as that found in Canada or in most of Europe.[12] They also oppose theAffordable Care Act and the expansion of Medicaid under the Act.[13]
Republicans opposelabor unions and have supportedright-to-work legislation (with a right-to-work law currently in effect in Florida).
Most of the Republicans' national and state candidates opposeabortion,same-sex marriage, andtransgender rights, favorcapital punishment (which is still used in Florida), and supportgun ownership rights.
Republicans advocate forcharter schools andschool vouchers; many have denounced the performance of public schools.[citation needed]
Socially conservative Republicans support voluntary organized prayer in public schools and the inclusion of teachingcreationism orintelligent design alongsideevolution.
The mascot symbol, historically, is theelephant. A political cartoon byThomas Nast, published inHarper's Weekly on November 7, 1874, is considered the first important use of the symbol.[14] In the early 20th century, the usual symbol of the Republican Party in Midwestern states such asIndiana andOhio was theeagle, as opposed to the Democratic rooster. This symbol still appears on Indiana ballots.
After the2000 election, the color red became associated with the GOP although it has not been officially adopted by the party. On election night 2000, for the first time ever, all major broadcast networks utilized the same color scheme for the electoral map:red states forGeorge W. Bush (Republican nominee) and blue states forAl Gore (Democratic nominee). Although the color red is unofficial and informal, it is widely recognized by the media and the public to represent the GOP. Partisan supporters now often use the color red for promotional materials and campaign merchandise.
Lincoln Day,Reagan Day, or Lincoln-Reagan Day, is the primary annual fundraising celebration held by many state and county organizations of the Republican Party. The events are named after Republican PresidentsAbraham Lincoln andRonald Reagan.
As of 2023, the party controls both U.S. Senate seats, 20 out of the 28 seats Florida is apportioned in the U.S. House, all statewide offices, and both chambers of the Florida state legislature.
Florida Republicans have consistently won gubernatorial elections in the state since1998.
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Out of the 28 seats Florida is apportioned in theU.S. House of Representatives, 20 are held by Republicans:
Republicans hold a 28-seat majority in the 40-memberFlorida Senate.
Republicans hold an 86-seat majority in the 120-memberFlorida House of Representatives.
| Photo | Former governors of Florida |
|---|---|
 | Harrison Reed |
 | Ossian Hart |
 | Marcellus Stearns |
 | Claude Kirk |
 | Bob Martinez |
 | Jeb Bush |
 | Charlie Crist |
 | Rick Scott |
| Photo | Former U.S. senators from Florida |
|---|---|
 | Marco Rubio |
 | George LeMieux |
 | Mel Martinez |
 | Connie Mack III |
 | Paula Hawkins |
 | Edward Gurney |
 | Simon Conover |
.jpg) | Abijah Gilbert |
 | Thomas Osborn |
 | Adonijah Welch |
| Election | Gubernatorial candidate | Votes | Vote % | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | No candidate | |||
| 1865 | ||||
| 1868 | Harrison Reed | 14,421 | 59.1% | Won Y |
| 1872 | Ossian B. Hart | 17,603 | 52.38% | WonY |
| 1876 | Marcellus Stearns | 24,116 | 49.49% | Lost N |
| 1880 | Simon B. Conover | 23,307 | 45.1% | LostN |
| 1884 | Frank W. Pope | 27,865 | 46.47% | LostN |
| 1888 | V.J. Shipman | 26,385 | 39.63% | LostN |
| 1892 | No candidate | |||
| 1896 | Edward R. Gunby | 8,290 | 20.3% | LostN |
| 1900 | Matthew B. MacFarlane | 6,238 | 17.27% | LostN |
| 1904 | Matthew B. MacFarlane | 6,357 | 17.37% | LostN |
| 1908 | John M. Cheney | 6,453 | 15.4% | LostN |
| 1912 | William R. O'Neal | 2,646 | 5.46% | LostN |
| 1916 | George W. Allen | 10,333 | 12.47% | LostN |
| 1920 | George E. Gay | 23,788 | 17.93% | LostN |
| 1924 | William R. O'Neal | 17,499 | 17.21% | LostN |
| 1928 | William J. Howey | 95,018 | 39.03% | LostN |
| 1932 | William J. Howey | 93,323 | 33.38% | LostN |
| 1936 | E.E. Callaway | 59,832 | 19.09% | LostN |
| 1940 | No candidate | |||
| 1944 | Bert L. Acker | 96,321 | 21.06% | LostN |
| 1948 | Bert L. Acker | 76,153 | 16.64% | LostN |
| 1952 | Harry S. Swan | 210,009 | 25.17% | LostN |
| 1954[23] | J. Thomas Watson†[24] | 69,852 | 19.52% | LostN |
| 1956 | William A. Washburne Jr. | 266,980 | 26.31% | LostN |
| 1960 | George C. Petersen | 569,936 | 40.16% | LostN |
| 1964 | Charles R. Holley | 686,297 | 41.26% | LostN |
| 1966 | Claude R. Kirk Jr. | 821,190 | 55.13% | WonY |
| 1970 | Claude R. Kirk Jr. | 746,243 | 43.12% | LostN |
| 1974 | Jerry Thomas | 709,438 | 38.8% | LostN |
| 1978 | Jack Eckerd | 1,123,888 | 44.41% | LostN |
| 1982 | Skip Bafalis | 949,013 | 35.3% | LostN |
| 1986 | Bob Martinez | 1,847,525 | 54.56% | WonY |
| 1990 | Bob Martinez | 1,535,068 | 43.48% | LostN |
| 1994 | Jeb Bush | 2,071,068 | 49.23% | LostN |
| 1998 | Jeb Bush | 2,191,105 | 55.27% | WonY |
| 2002 | Jeb Bush | 2,856,845 | 56.0% | WonY |
| 2006 | Charlie Crist | 2,519,845 | 52.20% | WonY |
| 2010 | Rick Scott | 2,619,335 | 48.87% | WonY |
| 2014 | Rick Scott | 2,865,343 | 48.14% | WonY |
| 2018 | Ron DeSantis | 4,076,186 | 49.59% | WonY |
| 2022 | Ron DeSantis | 4,614,210 | 59.37% | WonY |
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