Trump's next RNC chairman Joe Gruters is a longtime believer. Here's
what to know about him
[August 22, 2025]
By BILL BARROW and ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON
ATLANTA (AP) — Florida conservative Joe Gruters, a Donald Trump
cheerleader dating back to his days as a reality TV star, is the
president's handpicked choice to be the next Republican National
Committee chairman.
Having no opposition, Gruters' formal election is scheduled Friday at
the Republicans' summer meeting in Atlanta.
For Gruters, the vote will complete a steady climb from county party
leader into the top ranks of Trump’s second presidency. For Trump,
Gruters’ ratification reflects his penchant for loyal lieutenants and
evolution from a new president disinterested in party machinery to an
Oval Office veteran intent on gripping all levers of power.
Here is a look at Gruters’ history with Trump and Republicans and what
that means as he becomes chairman.
Gruters was with his ‘Statesman of the Year’ from the start
Trump’s decade of domination over Republican politics is replete with
rivals and critics who melted into the fold. Vice President JD Vance
once compared Trump to Adolf Hitler, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio
labeled Trump a “con artist” and mocked his manhood.
But Gruters was a true believer years before Trump launched his first
campaign in 2015.
“Joe bet on the horse before the track was even built,” said Christian
Ziegler, a former Florida Republican chair and friend of Gruters.
In 2012, Gruters led the Sarasota County GOP, and Republicans were
nominating Mitt Romney for president at their convention in nearby
Tampa, Florida.
Romney, then the kind of moderate Republican that is now almost extinct
in public office, had embraced Trump even as the businessman falsely
questioned then-President Barack Obama’s birthplace and citizenship.
Still, Trump was widely considered a liability for Romney against Obama,
and Romney’s team was circumspect about whether Trump would have a
convention role. While Trump was eventually confirmed as a speaker, an
approaching tropical storm shortened the convention schedule, and his
slot was among the casualties.
Enter Gruters.
The eager Sarasotan had already picked Trump as his county party’s
“Statesman of the Year,” slotting a dinner gala at Sarasota’s
Ritz-Carlton hotel on convention eve with 1,000 guests. It cemented an
enduring friendship.
Gruters climbed the Florida ladder alongside Trump
Gruters’ support for Trump’s first presidential bid in 2015 stood out in
Florida, given that Rubio and former Gov. Jeb Bush also were running.
In October, Gruters became co-chairman of Trump’s Florida campaign. His
fellow chair was Susie Wiles, who is now Trump’s White House chief of
staff. Bush didn’t make it to the Florida primary, and Trump trounced
Rubio, ending the senator’s campaign.
Gruters was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2016 at
the same time Trump won Florida’s electoral votes and the presidency.
And Wiles, Gruters’ old Trump campaign partner, was the mastermind
behind Florida Gov. DeSantis’ narrow 2018 victory.
So when it mattered, Gruters was well-positioned with a friend in the
Oval Office and the governor’s office — buoyed by Wiles, who had
distinguished herself as a Florida kingmaker.
Gruters navigated nasty party splits and Trump's election lies
All those powerful allies backed Gruters' successful bid for Florida GOP
chairman in 2019.
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Florida Sen. Joe Gruters watches during a legislative session April
30, 2021, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo
Lee, File)
Gruters and the party increased GOP registration across the state
and helped push battleground Florida to a clearer conservative
advantage. In 2020, as Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden
flipped Sun Belt battlegrounds Arizona and Georgia, Trump won
Florida comfortably.
That helped Gruters navigate Trump’s falsehoods that Biden’s
national victory was rigged. Gruters chose his words carefully,
stopping short of Trump’s election denialism yet ensuring he never
drew the defeated president’s ire. Leaning on local results, Gruters
called Florida the “gold standard.” He said there were “questions”
about “shenanigans” in other states.
“Florida has been the center of everything,” said current state
Chairman Evan Power. “Joe knows the successes and the lessons from
Florida — he can bring that to the national level.”
Florida’s rightward shift continued dominating reelection victories
for DeSantis and Rubio in 2022. The win made DeSantis a presumed
front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
A certain Palm Beach resident, however, was not finished.
As Trump built his third campaign, Wiles stuck with him — not
DeSantis. The governor ultimately broke with Wiles and Gruters. Then
Trump buried DeSantis, just as he’d crushed Bush and Rubio. DeSantis
made peace with Trump, but not with Gruters, describing him as
recently as last month as having a “linguine spine.”
Gruters reaffirms Trump's hold on the Republican Party
Trump has cycled through multiple national GOP chairs. Reince
Priebus in 2016 was the reluctant Trump backer who became the
president’s chief of staff in 2017, only to be fired via social
media post. Trump then turned to Ronna Romney McDaniel, Mitt’s
niece. He eventually pushed out McDaniel and tapped North Carolina’s
Michael Whatley as chairman, with daughter-in-law Lara Trump as
family stand-in at party headquarters.
As chairman, Gruters will be a fundraising partner with the White
House. The RNC is a key cog in joint party fundraising efforts that
the president headlines.
Trump has always been his own primary messenger, but Gruters will be
another notable face as the president approaches the 2026 midterms.
That doesn’t just mean policy and branding but also the mechanics of
elections. Gruters sidestepped Trump’s election denialism, but he’ll
now be partly responsible for building teams of lawyers and poll
watchers for a president who openly questions the efficacy of U.S.
elections.
Beyond the midterms, Gruters will be the chairman who helps set the
presidential primary calendar, debate rules and other nuts and bolts
of the 2028 campaign. While Trump is term-limited by the
Constitution, he's more than made clear that he will not stay in the
shadows as voters choose his successor. With Gruters, he has a
direct line into that process.
—
Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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