'What world are you in?' Republican infighting over voter fraud claims roils Florida GOP

12 December 2022

Conservative activists in Florida are hoping to fill local county leadership seats in the upcoming election, Naples Daily News reports.

Fueled by long-time allies of former President Donald Trump, including Steve Bannon and Michael Flynn, the move is a direct reflection of Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Ultra conservatives, many of whom identify as "America First" candidates, are committed to electing officials who, like Trump, rail against voter fraud.

One of them is Cathi Chamberlain, a former campaign manager for a conservative Florida House candidate who lost in November. Chamberlain is running to replace Adam Ross as Pinellas County GOP chair. According to Naples Daily New, "Chamberlain emphasized 'the stolen election in 2020' when she announced her campaign at a Pinellas GOP meeting last month" and believes Ross has “not [been] aggressive enough in investigating claims of voter fraud,

Many conservative candidates who supported Trump’s claims of voter fraud did not win in the midterm elections. But in Florida, Ron DeSantis won an easy reelection as governor, and several candidates endorsed by "MAGA Grocery King of Southwest Florida" Alfie Oakes won leadership roles in the Collier County GOP.

Republicans who stand up to Trump's accusations of voter fraud continue to be criticized by ultra-conservatives in the state. The activist group Defend Florida, which is supported by Flynn, has set it sights on current Manatee County GOP Chair Steve Vernon, whom the activists refer to as a RINO (Republican in Name only).

“I’m the ex-president of the tea party, yet they’re calling me a RINO and I’m thinking, 'What world are you in?" Vernon said. "I’m no more RINO than the man on the moon. That’s how bad it is."

“I am conservative," he continued. "However, they want to take it to the stratosphere.”

Vernon blames former Trump advisor Steve Bannon for the type of pressure he and Ross are receiving.

Amid the far-right Trumpist claims, Ross asserts the local party is committed to election integrity, and that their “professional leadership” has been successful in the past.

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