Local Manatee Republicans Ousted in State Takeover

The Republican Party of Florida must have been caught completely off guard when local Republicans dared to reject Governor DeSantis’s preferred candidates in the 2024 primary. Candidates James Satcher and Kevin Van Ostenbridge lost when grassroots voters—including members of the local Republican Executive Committee (REC)—made it clear they would not support them. The developers backed the losing ticket, and what followed was not only a betrayal of local party members, but an apparent violation of the party’s own bylaws.

In response, the state party removed the local leadership serving on the REC, including the duly elected State Committeeman and Committeewoman. A party ostensibly committed to election integrity chose to overturn the certified results of two countywide Republican races. In their place, state leadership installed Jennings Lawton DePriest, a self-described “professional propagandist” who worked on Satcher’s campaign and faced accusations of election law violations. For State Committeewoman, they appointed developer-friendly Bradenton City Councilwoman Jayne Kocher.

Following his removal, elected Committeeman Trent Wayman publicly noted on Facebook:

“Evan Power and the corrupt people who run the Republican Party of Florida used Fairy Dust to remove me from the State Committeeman seat that I was elected to in the 2024 August Primary… they claim that I impeded the Manatee County Republican Party turn around plan. Manatee County voters know the truth.” 

Consider the implications: we hold an election, decide who represents us, and because we rejected an DeSantis’ appointed incumbent for Supervisor of Elections, state leadership overrules the ballot box to install campaign operatives and developer puppets.

To finalize the takeover, state officials ousted the sitting REC Chair and installed Mark Flanagan. Since taking the reins, Flanagan has targeted local watchdogs, our publication, Mitch Maley, and me personally, while directing attacks against other local Republicans such as Lisa Gonzalez Moore. These attacks serve a single objective: protecting the big-money special interests and developers who now effectively control the REC.

Voters must see through these campaign tactics. This is not the grassroots party Manatee County had two years ago. Messaging  from Flanagan and the reconstituted REC does not serve our community—it serves the developers lining their pockets.

Joe McClash is the publisher of The Bradenton Times, a Marine Corps veteran, and a former Manatee County commissioner who served for 22 years as a Republican.