Broward GOP picks Moraitis as party chief

Broward Republicans, hoping a new leader can turn around the county political party that’s been plagued with controversy for years, picked state Rep. George Moraitis as their new chairman Monday.

He won the job by acclamation after no one stepped forward to challenge him. That’s a big departure for Broward Republicans, who have had a string of hotly contested leadership elections, often decided by a handful of votes.

“I’m humbled by your decision to elect me as your chair. I’m humbled by the opportunity to serve this area in this capacity,” he said, adding that he was “challenging everyone, including myself” to get their neighbors registered as Republicans and get them to the polls.

Moraitis called for party members to stay united behind President Donald Trump. “We cannot let the never Trumpers and the people who want to tear down this party and the conservative values of this country succeed.”

Also Monday, the committee members who make up the Broward Republican Party elected Michele Merrell of Fort Lauderdale as the new state committeewoman.

She said Republicans need to avoid doing anything that tears down or diminishes the Republican brand. “We have a difficult enough situation going on right now on the national level and the attacks I hear daily on our President Trump and other Republicans are nothing short of breathtaking.”

Merrell received 144 votes to 41 votes for Diana Taub of Pembroke Pines. The state committeewoman post has been vacant since August when Sharon Day resigned to become U.S. ambassador to Costa Rica. The position comes with a seat on the county Republican Party’s board of directors and on the governing board of the state Republican Party.

Moraitis is the ninth Broward Republican chairman in 11 years. The last three have resigned before their terms finished. The party has been rife with factions, often pitting social conservatives against those who care most about business and economics, or pitting early supporters of Donald Trump against people who aren’t enthusiastic about the president.

Moraitis fills the vacancy left by the Jan. 6 resignation of Bob Sutton, who held the job for 26 months. His tenure was marked by infighting and an insurrection among several members of the county party’s board of directors.

Moraitis was an early and enthusiastic supporter of Donald Trump’s candidacy last year. He’s beginning his final year in the Legislature, unable to run for re-election to his east Broward state House seat because of term limits. He can’t raise money on behalf of the party until the legislative session ends in March.

“He is the best candidate that could run for the position,” said committeeman Daniel Diaz of Pompano Beach. “I don’t know anybody that dislikes him. He’s definitely going to unite the Republican Party in Broward County.”

Moraitis, 47, lives in Fort Lauderdale. In March, his wife, Heather, will begin a three-year term on the Fort Lauderdale city commission.