Joe Gruters

Joe Gruters
Treasurer of the Republican National Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 17, 2025
Preceded byKC Crosbie
Member of the Florida Senate
from the 22nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
November 6, 2018
Preceded byGreg Steube
Chair of the Florida Republican Party
In office
January 12, 2019 – February 12, 2023
Preceded byBlaise Ingoglia
Succeeded byChristian Ziegler
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 73rd district
In office
November 8, 2016 – November 6, 2018
Preceded byGreg Steube
Succeeded byTommy Gregory
Personal details
Born
Joseph Ryan Gruters

(1977-07-06) July 6, 1977
Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseSydney Gruters
EducationFlorida State University (BS)
University of South Florida (MBA)

Joseph Ryan Gruters (born June 7, 1977) is an American politician and accountant who has served as a member of the Florida Senate since 2018 and as treasurer of the Republican National Committee since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2016 to 2018 and was the chair of the Florida Republican Party from 2019 to 2023.

Early life and education

Gruters was born on July 6, 1977,[1] in Tampa, Florida. He received a BS degree from Florida State University and an MBA degree from the University of South Florida.[1]

Political career

Campaign activities and rise to influence

Gruters lost his first two elections and worked behind the scenes on several more losing campaigns.[2] He joined Vern Buchanan’s original successful 2006 campaign for Congress.[3] Gruters subsequently was chairman of the Republican Party of Sarasota for ten years, longer than any of his predecessors.[4]

Gruters gained political influence as an early supporter of Rick Scott during his successful 2010 campaign for governor of Florida. Gruters' support earned him a high-profile appointment to the Florida State University board of trustees. He became vice chairman of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) in 2015, and had strong political backers when he ran for the Florida House of Representatives' seat in 2016.[3]

Trump supporter

Gruters is one of Donald Trump's closest political allies in Florida.[5] An early Trump supporter, Gruters was Florida co-chairman of Trump's 2016 campaign.[6] Gruters forged a relationship with Donald Trump in 2012 after Republican leaders snubbed the New York celebrity at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. Trump accepted an invitation from Gruters to invite him to speak in Sarasota the night before the convention.[7] Gruters arranged for Trump to be declared "Statesman of the year" several times at Republican political functions in Sarasota.

Gruters was elected to a two-year term as chairman of the Republican Party of Florida on January 11, 2019, at the party's annual meeting in Orlando, winning a two-year term. He defeated Bob Starr of Charlotte County and succeeded state Representative Blaise Ingoglia. Gruters passed out red "Keep Florida Great" hats ahead of the vote and declared that his "singular focus over the next two years" was winning reelection for Trump in 2020. Gruters's easy election coincides with more internal unity among the Florida Republican Party, which had been divided after a Jim Greer scandal and had suffered internal fractures during Governor Rick Scott's terms, when Scott withdrew financial and organization support for the party after Ingoglia had defeated Scott's preferred candidate.[5] President Trump nominated Gruters to the Amtrak board of directors, subject to confirmation by the United States Senate,[8] however, the confirmation was neither confirmed nor rejected and sent back to the president without appointment.[9]

Gruters unanimously won a second two-year term as RPOF Chairman in 2021.[10]

In 2023, Trump appointed Gruters to manage the funds in his legal defense expense fund, Patriot Legal Defense Fund, a tax-exempt nonprofit that allows dark money donors to remain anonymous to both the public and the IRS under Section 527 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.[11][12]

On April 17, 2025, the president announced that he appointed Gruters to the latest version of the White House Homeland Security Council and a local Florida publication noted the continuing dividends Gruters reaps from his relationship to the president.[13][14]

Florida Republican voter registration surge

During Gruters' four-year chairmanship of the Republican Party of Florida, he made voter registration a priority. With funding help from Governor Ron DeSantis,[15] the number of registered Republican voters surged in Florida during his tenure.[16] When Gruters took over the RPOF in 2019, Democrats held a 225,000 voter registration advantage, according to the Florida Division of Elections.[17]

By that time, because relocations of many Republican voters from other states among the growing population the gradual narrowing of the gap between Democrats and Republicans in Florida began to speed up and in two years, Florida Republicans had overtaken Democrats in voter registration.[17] Florida voter registration numbers had risen to approximately 5.15 million registered Republicans compared to 4.47 million Democrats — translating into a GOP lead of more than 680,000 registered voters more than the Democrats.[16] Data further showed that the emphasis on Republican voter registration was resulting in a 2022 registration advantage that was growing by roughly 30,000 voters every month.[18]

This voter registration advantage and associated get-out-the-vote campaign resulted in record wins for Florida Republicans in the 2022 midterm elections, including DeSantis at the top of the ticket winning 62 of Florida's 67 counties (which included the normally Democratic Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.)[19] The election also saw Republicans winning a supermajority in both the Florida House and Senate.[20]

Republican victories

Gruters' chairmanship of the Republican Party of Florida saw substantial electoral victories in both the 2020 presidential election and in the 2022 midterms. President Donald Trump defeated Joe Biden 51.22 percent vs. Biden 47.86 percent, a 3.36 percent margin, greatly expanding his narrow 2016 Florida victory margin. In 2022, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis defeated Democrat Charlie Crist 59.4 percent to 40 percent, a 19.4 point margin, while Republican Senator Marco Rubio defeated Democrat Val Demings 57.7 percent to 41.3 percent, a 16.4 point margin.[21] The Florida GOP also flipped four U.S. House seats in the midterms.[22] In the same timeframe, the Republican Party won supermajorities in the Florida Senate (28–12) and in the Florida House (85–35).[23]

Florida Legislature

Gruters in 2017, Florida state representative portrait

In 2016, Gruters won election to the Florida House of Representatives from the 73rd District, which includes Eastern Manatee County and Northeastern Sarasota County, from 2016. In 2018, he won election to the Florida Senate representing the 23rd District, consisting of Sarasota County and part of Charlotte County. Gruters was endorsed in 2018 by the Florida Chamber of Commerce.[24] In 2022, he won re-election to the Florida Senate.[25]

Gruters introduced three environmental bills in December 2018, ahead of the legislative session to address red tide and other issues: one bill would restore septic inspection regulations that had been lifted during the Great Recession and another would fine polluters for sewage spills.[26][27]

In the wake of a fatal shooting at a California synagogue in 2019, the Florida Senate unanimously passed a bill by Gruters to combat anti-Semitism, including by requiring schools to deal with anti-Semitic behavior the same way they do racial discrimination.[28]

Gruters was a driving force behind Florida's 2019 law (S.B. 198) that forces local and state law enforcement to honor U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers and prohibits local government from implementing "sanctuary" policies (which no Florida government had adopted). The controversial bill passed the Florida Senate 22-18,[29][30] and was signed into law by Florida's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis.[30]

Gruters sponsored Senate Bill 796, requiring electric utilities to adopt long-term plans for burying electric lines as a protective measure against hurricanes; the Senate voted 39-1 in favor of the bill.[31]

Gruters filed a bill to ban abortions 20 weeks after fertilization.[32]

Gruters sponsored Senate Bill 230, a piece of legislation that would reinstate Florida's controversial quest to identify purported noncitizen voters. The legislation would require the supervisor of elections in each Florida county to enter into a local agreement with court officials to obtain a list of jurors who have self-identified as non-citizens. That list would then be compared to the registered voter rolls and the non-citizen names would be purged.[33] Prior efforts to purge the voters in Florida have been botched, with lists of purported "noncitizens" containing some U.S. citizens. The president of the League of Women Voters of Florida called Gruters' piece of legislation "most likely a politically motivated proposal."[33]

Gruters also proposed legislation that would ban smoking at public beaches statewide. Violators would be fined up to $25 or given up to ten hours of public service.[34]

In 2019, he introduced the Florida Inclusive Workforce Act to ban employment discrimination against LGBT people.[35] This was a scaled-back version of the legislation; unlike the anti-discrimination bill Gruters had previously supported, it would not extend the anti-discrimination provisions in housing and public accommodations.[36] The omissions were opposed by the LGBT rights group Equality Florida; Gruters defended the bill's incrementalist approach, saying it would maximize the chances of passage.[36]

After Joe Biden won the 2020 election and Donald Trump refused to concede while making false claims of fraud, Gruters pushed for legislation in the Florida legislature that would restrict voting rights in the state. In 2021, Gruters called for cancelling all existing mail-in ballot requests, saying they would be "devastating" for Republicans up for re-election in 2022.[37]

He sponsored Bill HJR 31 and guided it through the Florida legislature so that it would be a constitutional amendment proposal presented to the voters on the 2024 ballot as amendment 1. If if it had been approved by voters, it would do away with an existing state constitutional requirement that schoolboard candidates run in non-partisan races, without party labels. During the discussion on the Senate floor, Gruters tried to assure opponents of the politicalization of school board races that the proposed amendment was a move toward "transparency".[38] The proposed amendment was defeated on November 8, 2024.[39]

Immigration legislation

As a Florida state senator, Gruters positioned himself as a leader in proposing and passing into law several pieces of legislation related to sanctuary cities, E-Verify for businesses and immigration enforcement practices.[40][41]

Anti-sanctuary city legislation

Gruters proposed, and DeSantis signed into law, the “Rule of Law Adherence Act” (SB168[42]) in 2019 to require law enforcement agencies to support, not obstruct, the enforcement of federal immigration law. The bill effectively banned sanctuary jurisdictions within the state of Florida.[43]

"We passed the strongest ban on sanctuary cities in the entire country", Gruters said at the time. The law was "about criminal illegal aliens who have broken other laws".[40] DeSantis added of Gruters' bill: "This bill is simple … it's our state's policy that we work with the federal government", DeSantis said, adding that sanctuary cities "defy federal law".[40]

E-Verify for businesses

After a 2019 trip to the U.S.–Mexico border, Gruters announced he was going to work to require Florida businesses to use a federal immigration database to check whether the businesses' workers are in the country legally. “We want to make sure we have the laws in place we need", Gruters said. "We want to capitalize on the success we have had so far and we want to keep on going."[44]

E-Verify was finally passed into law (CS/CS/SB 1718)[45] in 2023 after a long battle in the Florida Legislature. The law requires private businesses with 25 or more employees to use the E-Verify system for new employees, while the law retains the requirements for public employers and contractors and subcontractors to use the E-Verify system.[46]

Expedited deportation of illegal immigrants

In 2025, the Legislature passed Gruters' bill (SB 2-C),[47] which DeSantis signed into law just hours after it passed.[48]

The law toughens penalties for crimes committed by illegal immigrants; creates a statewide immigration enforcement panel; imposes the death penalty for illegal immigrants who commit first-degree murder or rape children; and makes it a state crime for illegal immigrants to enter the state.[49]

It was a fight in the Legislature and with the Governor at times to get the bill passed. In the end, DeSantis said: "I have no hard feelings at all. You know, these are not easy issues...There were differences of opinion about how to go about it, the timing, the substances, and we brought it all in for a landing, and we're better off as a result of having done that."[50]

Republican National Committee

On January 17, 2025, after receiving the endorsement of President Donald Trump, Gruters was elected treasurer of the Republican National Committee, succeeding KC Crosbie.[51][52][53]

On July 24, 2025, Donald Trump endorsed Gruters to be the next Chair of the Republican National Committee, after Michael Whatley announced he would run in the 2026 United States Senate election in North Carolina.[54] Whatley is due to depart the RNC at its summer meeting in Atlanta held from August 18 to August 22.[55] When the deadline for candidates passed in early August, Gruters was unopposed.[56]

International attention

In April 2025, Craig Pittman, a popular Florida commentator and humorist, wrote about the unusual attention to such a local U.S. politician as Gruters by a British tabloid with the highest circulation of paid newspapers in the UK. Namely, on April 1, 2025, Daily Mail featured an article on Gruters that was written by Katelyn Caralle, their senior political reporter covering "White House insiders". Her article was about Gruters' response when told that a social media account of his was following about 60 OnlyFans models.[57]

Personal life

Gruters is a Certified Public Accountant. His professional occupations include being a member of Robinson, Gruters & Roberts PA CPA LLC in Venice, Florida.[58] and being the manager of the Patriot Legal Defense Fund.

Gruters lives in Sarasota County. He is married to Sydney Gruters and they have three children.[59] She was appointed to a position as executive director of the New College Foundation at New College of Florida during the controversial takeover of the state honors college by Governor DeSantis.[60]

References

  1. ^ a b "Joe Gruters, District: 73 – Republican". Florida House of Representatives. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  2. ^ Anderson, Zac. "Joe Gruters elected Florida GOP chair". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Zac Anderson (December 26, 2015). "Gruters hitches his wagon to Trump". Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
  4. ^ Anderson, Zac. "Joe Gruters stepping down as Sarasota GOP chair after 10 years". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  5. ^ a b David Smiley. "One of Trump's closest allies in Florida takes control of the state Republican party". Miami Herald. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  6. ^ "Donald Trump's Florida Man".
  7. ^ "Trump's man in Florida a believer from start of long-shot bid". Tampa Bay Times. November 2, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  8. ^ Schorsch, Peter (February 2, 2018). "Donald Trump names Joe Gruters to Amtrak board". Florida Politics. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  9. ^ "Nominations: PN63 Joseph Ryan Gruters – Amtrak Board of Directors". congress.gov. January 3, 2020.
  10. ^ Ogles, Jacob (January 16, 2021). "Joe Gruters re-elected Chairman of Florida GOP". Florida Politics. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  11. ^ Christensen, Dan (August 1, 2023). "Trump's legal defense fund should prove lucrative for ex-Republican Party of Florida chairman Gruters". Florida Bulldog.
  12. ^ Sollenberger, Roger (February 11, 2023). "Trump's Dark Money Machine Just Got Darker". The Daily Beast.
  13. ^ Perry, Mitch (April 18, 2025). "Trump appoints Joe Gruters to White House Homeland Security Council". The Bradenton Times. Joe Gruters' close alliance with President Donald Trump continues to pay dividends for the Sarasota Republican state senator.
  14. ^ Lewis, Ray (April 18, 2025). "Homeland Security Advisory Council to include Fox News host Mark Levin, SC governor". The National News Desk. ABC45.
  15. ^ Dixon, Matt. "DeSantis pours $2M into Florida GOP's voter registration effort". POLITICO. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  16. ^ a b "Voter Registration – By Party Affiliation – Division of Elections – Florida Department of State". dos.myflorida.com. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  17. ^ a b "Voter Registration – By Party Affiliation – Division of Elections – Florida Department of State". dos.fl.gov. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  18. ^ Schorsch, Peter (February 24, 2023). "Sunburn — The morning read of what's hot in Florida politics — 2.24.23". Florida Politics. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  19. ^ "Florida Governor Election Results". The New York Times. November 8, 2022. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  20. ^ "Red wave sweeps in supermajorities in Florida Legislature". Miami Herald.
  21. ^ "Election Results Archive – Division of Elections – Florida Department of State". dos.fl.gov. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  22. ^ "House Election Results 2022: Live Map | Midterm Races by State". www.politico.com. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  23. ^ "Red wave sweeps in supermajorities in Florida Legislature".
  24. ^ "Florida Chamber is Proud to Endorse Joe Gruters – Florida Chamber of Commerce". www.flchamber.com. July 28, 2016. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  25. ^ Szymanowska, Gabriela. "State Senator Joe Gruters beats challenger Michael Johnson in race for Senate District 22". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  26. ^ Ogles, Jacob (December 29, 2018). "Joe Gruters files water quality bills ahead of session". Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  27. ^ Anderson, Zac. "Sewage spills would lead to big fines under Sarasota lawmaker's bill". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  28. ^ "Two days after deadly synagogue shooting, Florida Senate passes anti-Semitism bill". Miami Herald. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  29. ^ Anderson, Zac. "Sanctuary city bill clears big threshold with Florida Senate approval". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  30. ^ a b Elizabeth Koh, Gov. DeSantis signs 'sanctuary cities' ban into law. There aren't any in Florida., Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau (June 14, 2019).
  31. ^ Powers, Scott (May 2, 2019). "Push for underground power lines passes". Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  32. ^ Anderson, Zac. "Sarasota state Sen. Joe Gruters files 20-week abortion ban". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  33. ^ a b Anderson, Zac. "Bill would revive Florida's controversial efforts to identify noncitizen voters". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  34. ^ Anderson, Zac. "Sen. Joe Gruters files bill to ban smoking on Florida beaches". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  35. ^ Ogles, Jacob (January 24, 2019). "Joe Gruters bill focuses on ending workforce discrimination against LGBTQ employees". Florida Politics. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  36. ^ a b Zac Anderson, Gruters files LGBTQ anti-discrimination bill, but some say it falls short, Sarasota Herald-Tribune (January 24, 2021).
  37. ^ Fineout, Gary (September 20, 2021). "'Devastating': Florida Republicans worried about 2022 as they crafted election law". Politico PRO. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  38. ^ Dailey, Ryan, Partisan school board elections will go on the Florida ballot in 2024, WUSF, News Service of Florida, April 20, 2023 with image from the debate
  39. ^ Ballotpedia, Florida Amendment 1, Partisan School Board Elections Amendment (2024), accsessed 2025 04 13 with extensive explainations and comments to inform voters
  40. ^ a b c Gancarski, A. G. (June 14, 2019). "'We ran on this': Ron DeSantis signs anti-'sanctuary cities' bill". Florida Politics – Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
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  44. ^ "Ahead of 2020, Florida Republicans prepare for round 2 on immigration". POLITICO. July 1, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  45. ^ "2023 Bill Summaries – The Florida Senate". www.flsenate.gov. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  46. ^ "2023 Bill Summaries – The Florida Senate". www.flsenate.gov. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  47. ^ "Senate Bill 2C (2025C) – The Florida Senate". www.flsenate.gov. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  48. ^ Llanos, Mitch; Perry, Jackie (February 13, 2025). "DeSantis signs immigration bills less than an hour after lawmakers passed them • Florida Phoenix". Florida Phoenix. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  49. ^ Chapman, Jayne (February 20, 2025). "Lawmakers Pass Illegal Immigration Crackdown". FTBOA. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  50. ^ "DeSantis signs immigration bills less than an hour after lawmakers passed them". Yahoo News. February 13, 2025. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  51. ^ Fields, Ashleigh (December 21, 2024). "Trump backs MAGA loyalist Joe Gruters for RNC treasurer". The Hill. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  52. ^ Bushman, Heather (January 24, 2025). "Sarasota's Joe Gruters elected RNC treasurer behind Trump endorsement". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  53. ^ Dixon, Matt (December 9, 2024). "RNC treasurer announces bid to replace Lara Trump as co-chair". NBC News. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  54. ^ "The RNC chairman is stepping down. Trump wants a Florida Republican to step in". Miami Herald. July 24, 2025. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
  55. ^ Ogles, Jacob (August 1, 2025). "Michael Whatley formally announces he will step down as RNC Chair". Southeast Politics. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  56. ^ Fineout, Gary (August 5, 2025). "With Trump's support, Gruters path to lead RNC moving smoothly". Politico. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  57. ^ Pittman, Craig, Oh, Florida! The Newsletter, Vol. 9 No.7, April 13, 2025
  58. ^ admin. "Joe Gruters – Robinson, Gruters & Roberts Certified Public Accountants". Robinson, Gruters & Roberts CPAs. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  59. ^ "Joe Gruters announces bid for state senate | Sarasota". Your Observer. March 8, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  60. ^ Ogles, Jacob, Sydney Gruters to lead New College Foundation, Florida Politics, March 23, 2023
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