Ending months of speculation and rumor, Rep. Blaise Ingoglia (R-Spring Hill) and current RPOF Chairman stated he would not run for the Florida House Speakership for the legislative term beginning in 2021. Ingoglia ended speculation yesterday in a speech to the RPOF Executive Board, stating emphatically that he will not be running for Speaker of the House. “Let me be clear. I have never offered myself as a candidate for Speaker of the House. I am currently not offering myself as a Speaker of the House, and I’m not going to offer myself as a Speaker of the House.” During his remarks, Ingoglia bashed stories circulating in the media that he had been organizing a coup of freshman legislators in an effort to turn votes away from expected 2021 Speaker Rep. Eric Eisnaugle (R-Gotha) and possibly towards himself. Ingoglia stated his only focus had always been only on reforming the process of selecting the House Speaker, adding it can begin even before someone is elected to their first term as a Legislator.
The FL GOP Chair went on to explain thoughts among so-called Freshman “reformers” about the process used to select future House Speakers. “We believe that is it not merit-based, and we believe the idea of picking speakers very, very early on… I don’t personally think that it is the most effective thing for taxpayers… or good for the chamber.” He also stated he is removing himself from further reform efforts by current GOP House members.
On Thursday, the Orange County Republican Executive Committee voted to establish three independent campaign accounts as part of a preemptive effort to ward off expected draining of resources and money from the State GOP. OCREC Chair Lew Oliver had stated these accounts would be activated only if absolutely necessary. Reaction to Ingoglia’s statement from the OCREC Chair or members was not readily available; however, it looks like these accounts may not have to be activated after all.
Ingoglia went to address positive reforms made this year within the State’s GOP, including recruiting more than 1000 volunteers for the 2016 campaign, hiring a bilingual spokesperson, and launching a huge ground game. He also touted the many education and training opportunities available throughout the state for GOP volunteers and operatives. “I don’t think Democrats win elections. I think we lose elections, and we’re going to continue this winning”.