Good morning and welcome to Wednesday. Two men want to replace embattled Republican Party of Florida chair Christian Ziegler — and there’s already plenty of drama surrounding the election. Many grassroots Republicans want a new leader as soon as possible, while others are worried that the planned Jan. 8 election in Tallahassee creates an unfair turf advantage meant to ensure a win for Evan Power, the Florida GOP vice chair who’s based there as a lobbyist and consultant. Running to oppose him is 12-year national committeeman Peter Feaman, a Boynton Beach attorney. Power has been in charge of the Florida GOP’s operations since the executive committee stripped Ziegler of his authority on Dec. 17 following a rape investigation. He ran against Ziegler for the chairmanship less than a year ago — and lost. He’s now in charge of overseeing the proceedings for Ziegler’s removal and running other parts of the January meeting. Power and Feaman have faced off before. Feaman beat Power in 2020 for the role of national committeeman. Before the Ziegler seat was set to open up, Feaman had planned to step down from his national committeeman role while Power had launched a bid to run for a national committeeman spot. It’ll all come to a head next week: First a vote on Ziegler’s removal, then immediately after on his replacement. There’s been plenty of disagreement within the GOP over how to interpret party rules on whether the election timeline is rushed. The election also falls on a Monday afternoon, when some party volunteers can’t leave their day jobs to participate and right before Gov. Ron DeSantis’ State of the State address, when travel to Tallahassee is congested. Feaman would prefer to hold the election during the party’s long-planned annual meeting in Orlando on Feb. 10 (a Saturday), saying that he otherwise worried a Jan. 8 vote would be “skewed” and disenfranchise some members who live at far ends of the state. A total of 260 members have been invited to Tallahassee, and more than half need to be present to hold the vote. “This is very much a national race,” Feaman said. “The whole country is watching Florida. We need somebody in senior leadership with a lot of experience. I can raise money not just in Tallahassee but nationally.” But Power told POLITICO he expected more than enough members to show. “Members understand the party needs to move on,” he said, adding that he should be elected given his winning streak in tough districts and his fundraising access. As for the time and place, he said GOP staff chose it because it was the earliest date possible under notice requirements and much of the committee would already be in Tallahassee for the session. The party is split, with plenty of members acknowledging they can’t wait to quickly put the Ziegler era behind. “If somebody isn't ready to campaign and win for the chairman’s race on Jan. 8, how are they going to be ready to serve as chairman if we wait a month?” asked one state party member, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid internal backlash given split allegiances in the party. Members widely view the Ziegler investigation as a stressful distraction at a time when both former President Donald Trump and DeSantis are campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination and as Florida’s March 19 primary nears. With a new leader they can resume aggressive fundraising and diminish the negative headlines, the latest of which found Ziegler was being investigated for whether he illegally recorded the woman accusing him of rape. — WHERE'S RON? Gov. DeSantis will attend events in Iowa with Never Back Down, the super PAC supporting his candidacy. Among the stops are Waukee, Council Bluffs, and Sioux City. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com | 
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