Blaise Ingoglia Tops Tea Partier Patricia Sullivan to Keep RPOF Vice Chair; National Committeeman Elected

Rebuffing a tea party alternative, state GOP leaders re-elected Blaise Ingoglia as vice chairman of the Republican Party of Florida.

Ingoglia defeated tea party leader Patricia Sullivan on Saturday. Vote totals were not announced.

Chairman of the Hernando County Republican Party, Ingoglia founded Government Gone Wild, a series of live seminars and Internet videos that highlight the dangers of unsustainable federal spending and big government. With one of the most successful Facebook fan pages in politics, GGW's YouTube videos have been viewed by more than 6 million.

Clyde Simpson, chairman of the Jefferson County GOP, nominated Ingoglia. Escambia Country Party Chairwoman Susan Moore seconded.

Sullivan, who chairs the Tea Party Network, a statewide coalition of 80 tea and patriot groups, entered the contest just 48 hours before the vote. She was nominated by state Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla.

A Lake County resident who ran for Congress in 2010, Sullivan said, "My role in the [RPOF] election was to provide people with a choice."

"We voted on a resolution, welcoming tea party members into our Republican Executive Committees. Now let's walk the walk and unite our voices," she told the GOP gathering.

RPOF Chairman Lenny Curry, the former vice chair who succeeded the late Dave Bitner, said after the vote:

"Since we were first elected to statewide RPOF leadership roles, Blaise and I have been working together to keep moving our Republican vision forward. Blaise has been a leader in employing new media to inspire activism and his outreach is helping recruit new members to our party."

Also Saturday, the State Executive Committee re-elected Sharon Day as National Committeewoman and elected Boca Raton attorney Peter Feaman as National Committeeman. Both of those votes were unanimous.