Christian Ziegler Biography
Christian Ziegler is the chair of Florida’s Republican Party and a former Sarasota County Commissioner. He has been accused by a woman he has known for 20 years of rape on Oct. 2. He has however maintained that it was consensual sex.
He is also a frequent political contributor appearing on ABC7, SNN6 and has appeared in print & online publications such as The Daily Caller, Tampa Bay Times, Miami Herald, and Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
How Old is Christian Ziegler
Ziegler is 40 years old, he was born on May 27, 1983 in Atlanta, Georgia and grew up in North Georgia.
Christian Ziegler Education
Ziegler graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Science in Criminology and Political Science.
Christian Ziegler Political Party
Ziegler is a member of the Republican Party, serving as Florida’s GOP chairman.
Christian Ziegler Wife
Christian is married to Bridget Ziegler, a co-founder of Moms Liberty and serves on the Sarasota County School Board since 2014. She was first appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to fill a vacancy and was then elected to a 4 year term in 2014 and was re-elected in 2018. In Nov 2022, she became the Chairman of the Board. She is also a board member of Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.
In addition, she is a National Director of School Board Leaders Programs, EVP Leadership Institute and previously served as a director of school board of programs. She has also held other positions including, Youth Leadership Chair 2016 for The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce; Commercial Risk Advisor/Agent for AI Purmort Insurance; Lead Consultant: Property & Casualty for USI Insurance services.
Christian Ziegler Children
Christian and his wife Bridget have two daughter; Reagan Reese Ziegler (born in 2014) and Sloane Frances Ziegler (born in 2016).
Christian Ziegler Sarasota Florida/ Republican party
Ziegler worked as a legislative aide of Vern Buchanan after he won the 2006 elections as Florida’s 13th Congressional district representative. In 2012, he ran and won for a position of The Republican Party of Florida’s state committee, representing Sarasota County. He was re-elected in 2016 and also serves as the chairman of Congressional District 16 Caucus.
In 2018, he was elected as the Vice-Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida and was re-elected without opposition in 2020, a position he held until February 2023 when he became the Chairman.
Previously, he served as a county commissioner for Sarasota County Government. He began his political career as a legislative analyst intern for Florida House of Representatives in 2005 before joining becoming deputy political director for Vern Buchanan and then political director and eventually director of online communications.
Outside politics, he served as Chief Operating Officer for Dealers United in Sarasota, Florida area and is also the Founder and CEO of Microtargeted Media, a digital marketing firm specializing in website design, digital and social media advertising.
Christian Ziegler Sexual Battery/ Christian Ziegler Rape
Christian is being accused by a woman who have known him for 20 years of rape. According to the affidavit, the woman had agreed to have a threesome sexual encounter with Ziegler and his wife, Bridget on Oct.2 but she canceled after she learnt that Bridget wouldn’t make it. The woman alleged that she opened the door to walk her dog and Ziegler entered her apartment and sexually assaulted her without a condom. She told the police she couldn’t consent because she had been drinking alcohol, as it was her day off work. During an interview with the police on Nov. 1 Bridget told the police that she, the victim and Christian had consensual sex together over a year before the alleged sexual battery.
After the incidence, the woman called a relative to tell her she has been raped, which the relative confirmed to police that she was “very emotional and distraught.” The search warrant affidavit revealed the victim received a rape kit from Sarasota Memorial Hospital after telling police on Oct. 4 that she had been raped two days earlier. The police had gone to her apartment on Oct. 4 after receiving an her friend called 911 and said she was worried about her as she hadn’t gone to work and said she was afraid to leave the house after being raped.
In late October, the woman started texting Ziegler over Instagram telling him she “wasn’t OK” with what he has done and she wasn’t able to work. She wrote, “You didn’t bring her and then you did that to me.”
In recorded follow up calls, the woman accused Ziegler of rape and told him that he had hurt her when he went to her house and demanded to know why he forced her to have sex. When she accused him of raping her, he said, “Those are big words, please don’t, no I didn’t. You invited me in, that’s it. I did not at all, and I never want you to feel that way.”
Ziegler tried to ask how he could help her, including financially but she demanded he acknowledge “that he has been using her all these years.”
According to the search warrant affidavit, Ziegler admitted to having sex with the victim but alleged it was consensual. Ziegler also admitted to the police that he had filmed the encounter but he deleted the video but put it on Google Drive, though police filed a request for a search warrant after they had been unable to locate it.
Ziegler hasn’t been charged with a crime but the investigation is still ongoing. He has also said he will share “a lot more to share about the facts, how this transpired, the motive and who was behind it” after the investigation is completed.
Christian Ziegler Video
According to Ziegler, he video-recorded the the Oct. 2 incidence and uploaded to Google Drive but the police were unable to locate the video. Sarasota police served a search warrant to Google last month, the affidavit says.
Christian Ziegler Resigns
Ziegler has said that he won’t resign from his post following rape accusation. In an email to state Republicans, he alleged that he and his wife were being targeted because they are “such loud political voices.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has however asked him to resign to avoid becoming a distraction to their party but Ziegler has maintained he won’t resign.