Republicans elect Sarasota's Gruters as chairman of RNC

Florida State Sen. Joe Gruters, who represents the Sarasota area in Tallahassee, was chosen Friday as the chair of the Republican National Committee, about a month after President Trump endorsed him for the role.

Gruters was unopposed in the election process. He’s a former state chair of the party and was first elected to the Florida Legislature in 2016. Gruters, 48, will lead the national organization chiefly tasked with fundraising and organizing political campaigns.

According to the RNC website, where Gruters is now listed as chairman, he will remain as the District 22 state senator. 

Gruters has been one of the president’s top allies in Florida, bringing him to Sarasota in 2012 to name him Statesman of the Year, an award the Sarasota County Republicans annually bestow. Gruters has been chair of the Sarasota Republican Party and chaired Trump’s 2016 campaign in Florida.

On social media, Trump has praised Gruters, calling him a “Fierce Advocate for our Movement” and a “MAGA warrior” who “has been with us from the very beginning.”

In a speech following the vote, Gruters said, "the skies are clear" and he was focused on the future of the GOP.

“Today is not about one person, it is about our mission: The midterms are ahead, where we must expand our majority in the House and the Senate and continue electing Republicans nationwide,” he said. “And then we march forward toward the presidential election, where the stakes could not be higher.”

Gruters replaces Michael Whatley of North Carolina, who himself is running for a Senate seat, who was the chair of the committee during last year’s election cycle but is departing to run for Senate in North Carolina.

In early polling for 2026 election, Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina holds a slim lead over Whatley. The Senate seat is up for grabs because of the retirement of Republican Sen. Thom Tillis.