The Florida state Republican Party has voted out its chairman Christian Ziegler after he was accused of sexual assault in October and remains under investigation by Sarasota Police.

Ziegler has denied the allegations against him and he has not been charged with any crimes so far.

Even so, Ziegler was suspended by the state GOP in mid-December before being voted out on Monday.

He was removed during a closed-door meeting of the executive committee in Tallahassee.

Focus on 2024

“We have to move past this and have to focus on 2024,” Ziegler's predecessor state Sen. Joe Gruters said before the meeting. “Florida’s one of the most important states for the Republicans and we have to continue to bring home victories, especially for Rick Scott and the top of the ticket with Trump as our nominee, eventually.”

Vice Chairman Evan Power was made chairman by a vote of 135-65 after Ziegler's removal. Both Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Marco Rubio endorsed Power, along with other prominent Florida Republicans.

The assault allegation came from a woman who was previously alleged to have had an intimate relationship with Ziegler and his wife, Bridget Ziegler, the co-founder of Moms for Liberty.

The three were supposed to have another threesome together, but Bridget Ziegler allegedly did not attend the planned meeting, and the accuser said that what occurred between Ziegler and herself was not consensual.

Keep in mind that Moms for Liberty supports accountability for school boards and has been seen as having an anti-LGBT agenda even as she supposedly engaged in a threesome with her husband and another woman.

The impact

Bridget Ziegler, who also sits on the Sarasota School Board, was not accused of any wrongdoing, but the board still suggested she resign due to the scandal.

DeSantis and Scott leaned on Christian Ziegler to resign from the chairmanship, but he did not.

The turmoil in the Florida GOP could impact that state's operation in the 2024 presidential election as well as local elections.

DeSantis sits at 10.9% in polls, while former President Donald Trump is at 62.7% and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.

Luckily, Florida is pretty solidly red at this point, and there's little chance that Democrats could take away much from Republicans.

Let's hope Republicans can get it together before any damage does occur.