Gloves Come Off in Florida GOP Primary as Candidate Files FEC Complaint Against Party Chairman
'I’ve kept everything in my silos'
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Florida GOP Chairman Faces FEC Complaint Over Alleged Misuse of Party Resources in Congressional Bid
An FEC complaint filed this week against Florida Republican Party Chairman Evan Power accuses him of using his position and party resources to gain an unfair advantage in the GOP primary for Florida’s 2nd Congressional District, allegations Power says are completely without merit.
Keith Gross, Power’s primary opponent in the race to replace retiring Rep. Neal Dunn, filed the complaint, claiming Power is breaking federal campaign finance laws by trying to do two jobs at once — running the state party, which pays him an estimated $150,000 a year, while running for Congress. Power jumped into the race on January 14 but hasn’t given up the party chairmanship.
Power vehemently dismissed any wrongdoing. “I’ve kept everything in my silos, as they will. And I’m going to continue to run for Congress and represent the people of Florida and I will follow all laws,” he told 24Sight News. “So it’s a frivolous complaint that is sad that people are trying to do that to us.”
Gross sees it differently.
“The actions outlined in this Complaint paint a damning picture of insider corruption: a party boss moonlighting as a candidate, hijacking donor funded tools to rig his own race and disenfranchising the voters of CD-2 who deserve a fair election,” he said in a statement. “Evan Powers is using party resources to bolster his own sorely unpopular candidacy, extorting members of congress into endorsing him by leveraging state party authority to pressure officials and using donor funds to serve himself instead of the party from which he continues to receive a paycheck.”
According to the complaint, Gross says Power has been using Republican Party donor and voter lists worth over $50,000 for his own campaign, getting free promotion on the party’s social media accounts, and leaning on local officials to endorse him by making it clear their party support could dry up if they back someone else. He also claims Power has turned party events into campaign stops and is using party lawyers to help with his congressional run. Add it all up, Gross says, and you’re looking at more than $100,000 in benefits — way over what federal law allows.
Under current law, corporations can’t give to federal candidates and individuals can only give $3,500 per election.
Power took over as Florida GOP chairman just over a year ago after former Chairman Christian Ziegler was ousted following sexual misconduct allegations.
The 2nd Congressional District runs across the Florida Panhandle from Tallahassee to Panama City and leans so heavily Republican, with the winner of the primary expected to coast to victory in the general election.
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