The “Republican National Committee” is the national party machine of the Republican Party. It is comprised of 3 members from each state party; the state Chair, a National Committeeman, and a National Committeewoman (NC).
The “Republican Party of Florida” is the state party machine. It is made up of 3 members from each county party: the county REC Chair, a State Committeeman, and a State Committeewoman (SCM/SCW). Other states may have slightly different procedures.
The “Republican Executive Committee” is the county party machine. It is made up of 1 Precinct Committeeman and 1 Precinct Committeewoman (PCs) per 1,000 registered voters in each precinct. So, if there are 7,000 registered voters in your precinct, 7 men and 7 women represent YOU in the REC.
The purpose of the REC is to represent the Republican voters in a deliberative body, and provide direction to the board to carry out agreed upon tasks. That may encompass motions, resolutions, policies, etc. Duties of the PCs include representation, as well as filling vacancies in the REC, volunteering to get out the vote (GOTV), and holding our elected public servants to account.
Every state has their procedure. In Florida, the RPOF’s State Executive Committee elects their State Chair, National Committeeman, and National Committeewoman (NCs) from among their ranks. These 3 people represent FL in the RNC.
The Republican voters of Lee County (and every other county) elect the SCM/SCW of their county, in the Primary Election in Presidential Years to serve a 4-year term.
If you are registered as a Republican in Lee County… YOU DO.
The Republican voters in each of the 99 precincts in Lee County elect their PCs in the Primary Election during Presidential Election Years… assuming there are more candidates than slots.
If there is no challenger, the sitting REC Members fill the vacancy for the remainder of the existing term. More on this in the next question…
PCs are only elected on the Primary Ballot if there are more candidates than slots. Historically, the county parties have always strived to keep the RECs at around 100 members. Smaller RECs are more easily manipulated and controlled by the establishment.
Virtually, all PCs in Lee County have been voted in to fill a vacancy, rather than elected by the voters. This is because there are less than 300 PCs, and well over 1,100 slots. While this is an improvement over the old normal of 100, it is nowhere near enough.
This year, only 2 Precincts in Lee County will have Primaries for Precinct elections:
- The Committeemen in Precinct 318
- The Committeewomen in Precinct 115
This means you or your neighbor are eligible to fill vacancies beginning in Jan ’25
Together, let’s strengthen the party. We’ll see you there.
Yes. Every PC, SC, and NC takes an oath to uphold the Constitutions of Florida and these United States, as well as the laws of both, all combined in the Party Loyalty Oath. We also take a Candidate Oath, required of any candidate, running for any office. This is filed as part of our candidacy filing at the office of the Supervisor of Elections (SoE) and the Secretary of State (SoS).
The short answer is “It’s easier than you might think”.
PCs are elected in the Primary Election in Presidential Election years. The cut off date to qualify this year was June 14th.
Another way is to apply to fill a vacancy, although, all terms expire on December 1st in Presidential Election years. You could attend the November meeting, file your paperwork at that meeting, then get sworn in to fill a vacancy in January.
One good resource for info on becoming a PC in Lee County is LCRA.
Another is to follow Dan Schultz’s in-depth program, ‘Precinct Strategy’ and familiarize yourself with the strategies to Make Lee County Great Again, and to keep it that way.
Top-Down is like a sole-proprietorship or small corp. where an owner exercises sole discretion over his/her business with unilateral control. While this is appropriate in private business, in politics examples are a kingdom, a dictatorship, or the Biden Administration.
The union of these United States was formed as a Bottom-Up political entity, with ‘We The People’ as the sovereigns, and the politicians as our servants, not masters.
The REC/RPOF are supposed to be Bottom-Up organizations, whereby the members of the Executive Committees jointly provide the propulsion, steer the ship, and give direction to the board to carry out those directives. The board is neither the engine, nor the driver. They are the pit crew. They keep the car running between laps.