Aug 22, 04:29 PM

Trump Ally Joe Gruters Unanimously Elected RNC Chair

The Republican National Committee unanimously elected Florida state Sen. Joe Gruters as its new chairman on Friday during the party’s summer meeting in Atlanta, installing a close ally of President Donald Trump to lead the GOP’s national apparatus. Gruters ran unopposed and replaces Michael Whatley, who resigned to seek the Republican nomination for an open U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina. Gruters, 48, has been part of Trump’s political inner circle since co-chairing the then-candidate’s 2016 campaign in Florida. As chair of the Florida Republican Party from 2019 to 2023, he helped flip a deficit of roughly 400,000 registered voters into a lead of about 1.3 million, cementing the state’s shift from battleground to reliably red. He was elected RNC treasurer in January and says he will keep his state Senate seat while suspending a nascent campaign for Florida chief financial officer. After the vote, Gruters pledged to build “the strongest, most energized Republican National Committee in history” and to prioritize voter-registration and election-integrity efforts as the party prepares for the 2026 midterms, when it will defend slim majorities in both chambers of Congress. The RNC ends July with $84 million in cash on hand, far outpacing the Democratic National Committee’s $14 million, giving the new chairman a sizable financial advantage heading into the cycle. Gruters also differs from many GOP leaders by backing adult-use marijuana legalization, a stance that could shape the committee’s approach to cannabis policy under his tenure.