December 1, 2022
On the heals of historic victories for Conservatives in Palm Beach County and the State of Florida, GOP Party officials show no signs of stopping.
This November, having turned the County red for the first time in decades, Party leadership, including a group of seven planners and organizers, referred to as ‘Regional Directors,’ has begun laying the groundwork for 2024.
Meanwhile, a small group of individuals who refer to themselves as the ‘true MAGA Republicans,’ has launched a campaign to replace the Party’s Board of Directors. The group includes a few candidates who, despite tremendous Statewide down-ballot voting, failed to convince their electorate that they are a better choice over their Democrat opponents. One of these candidates is Steve Byers, who launched a bid for Florida State Senate in District 26.
Steve Byers lost his race to Democrat Lori Berman by over 21K votes; a 10-percentage point deficit with a total of 223.5K votes cast in the race. Steve’s 34 donors contributed just over $6K. He loaned himself $50K and spent over $58K during the coarse of his campaign. Meanwhile opponent Lori Berman’s 312 donors contributed over $368K with expenditures totaling just over $364K.
Steve blames the Party for his loss. He accuses the Party of running Bill Wheelen against him in the Primary. Sources tell PBInd that the Party recruited Steve, not Bill. Bill agrees. Steve also claims the Party refused to fund his campaign during the Primary, favoring Bill, although neither candidate was funded by the Party. RPOF rules forbid playing favorites during Primaries. Steve defeated Bill nonetheless.
Jeff Buongiorno and Melissa Martz, who lost their bid for Congress to Brian Mast in the 2022 Primary election, are among the discontents. Together, Jeff and Melissa garnered less than 6K votes to Brian’s more than 18K. They too blame the Party for their losses.
Jeff on social media accused current leadership for losing Congressional races this November. However Joe Budd, who ran in District 23, which spans two counties, won Palm Beach County, losing only to Democrat Vote By Mail (VBM) campaigns in Broward County. William Reicherter who ran for State Senate in District 30 also won Palm Beach County only to lose to Broward’s VBM. Joe and Bill each credit the Palm Beach County GOP’s leadership for their success in PBC.
Candace Rojas, another Republican candidate who has run two failed bids for office, joined the group. Candace is known to be a member of a Qanon conspiracy group called Palm Beach Patriots. This is evident in her social media affiliations and comments.
Challengers face high hurdles defeating the current leadership, which organized and supported two successful races for County Commission and four to State House in November, turning the County red for the first time in decades.
2022 PALM BEACH COUNTY GOP – SUCCESSFUL RACES
| PALM BEACH COUNTY John Snyder HD86 Mike Caruso HD87 Peggy Gossett-Seidman HD91 Rick Roth HD94 Marci Woodward CC4 Sara Baxter CC6 | STATE & FEDERAL Wilton Simpson Marco Rubio Brian Mast Ashley Moody Jimmy Patronis Ron DeSantis |
Party members we spoke with credit the current leadership for raising the largest funds of any GOP in the State of Florida, contributing $150K to Republican candidates, reorganizing the Party around the seven Regional Directors, adopting new technology, and empowering membership to “make things happen.”