Republican Party of Florida Chair Evan Power said he’s running for Congress.

The Tallahassee Republican said he will file on Wednesday morning to run in Florida’s 2nd Congressional District. He told Florida Politics about his plans the same day U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn announced he would retire from Congress and wouldn’t seek re-election.

The party leader noted President Donald Trump winning Florida’s electoral votes in 2024 by 13 percentage points as he touted his record of success.

“Florida became the gold standard for winning as a conservative — because we fought, we organized, and we never backed down,” Power said. “I stood with President Trump then, and I’ll stand with him in Congress to stop the radical left, secure our border, strengthen our military, grow our economy, and always put America First.”

Power first rose to Republican Party of Florida Chair in the wake of a sex scandal that prompted former state Chair Christian Ziegler’s resignation from the position. Power later won re-election to a full term.

“Washington doesn’t need more talkers — it needs fighters,” Power added. “I know how to beat the Left and I know how to deliver results. I’m running to take the Florida model to Congress and fight every day for President Trump’s America First agenda.”

He said he intends to serve out his term as RPOF Chair, which ends in January 2027.

Before that, he was long active in state GOP politics. He also serves as a Republican State Committee member for Leon County and previously served as County Chair. At the national level, Power serves on the Republican National Committee’s Rules, Election Integrity and Presidential Nomination Process committees.

The Florida State University graduate previously worked for Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he served in the Florida Legislature. He later became a lobbyist working on numerous state issues.

The district leans significantly Republican under its current makeup.

CD 2 covers parts of the Panhandle and Big Bend, including Tallahassee, Florida’s capital city. Dunn easily won re-election in 2024 over Democrat Yen Bailey with about 61.7% of the vote. More than 58.5% of voters there supported Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Kamala Harris for President, according to MCI Maps, and more than 60% of voters backed GOP U.S. Sen. Rick Scott’s re-election.

But the lines could soon shift as Florida embarks on a mid-decade redistricting effort. That could significantly impact the makeup of a seat that, as recently as 2014, was represented by moderate Democratic U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham.

Power, of course, comes with significant political connections and fundraising capacity. Under his watch, Florida Republicans have massively outraised Democrats and grown a voter registration advantage.

Meanwhile, Keith Gross, an attorney who previously challenged Scott in a GOP Primary, told The Hill that he will also file for the seat.

The Florida chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is monitoring lawmakers convening for the Legislative Session in Tallahassee, as the organization is advocating for several proposed bills it says would foster small businesses.

The Florida NFIB has issued its top five proposed legislative measures, which it says would most likely benefit retailers and other entrepreneurs. Bill Herrle, NFIB Florida Executive Director, said there are many proposed measures that could help ease what he calls heavy-handed regulation that hurts small business owners.

“This Legislative Session, Florida’s small business owners have identified several pieces of legislation that would lessen the regulatory burdens on small businesses and further improve the business climate,” Herrle said. “Florida is a great state to run and operate a small business, and our members are looking forward to the Legislature advancing more pro-small business policies during the Session.”

A significant bill could repeal some local taxes on businesses. The measure (SB 122) sponsored by Sen. Keith Truenow, a Tavares Republican, amends the term “merchant’ that would prohibit some municipalities from revising tax rates, and it would “repeal local gross receipts business taxes except for those already enacted,” the NFIB news release said.

A bill that could ease some regulations is a measure sponsored by Sen. Stan McClain, an Ocala Republican, that would reduce requirements for businesses to post notices of employment with employment agencies and labor organizations. The proposal (SB 1698) provides an alternative to posting job-related notices online rather than solely in hard copy.

Meanwhile, a House bill (HB 191) sponsored by Rep. Shane Abbott, a DeFuniak Springs Republican, looks to modify circumstances and criteria for reemployment assistance. The measure would increase the verification criteria for reemployment assistance and establish an employer hotline to report reemployment assistance fraud.

NFIB officials are also backing a proposed House measure (HB 221) sponsored by Rep. Ryan Chamberlain, an Ocala Republican, that would ease the minimum wage requirements for new hires. That would allow employers a nine-month voluntary waiver of the state minimum wage while new employees are being trained.

And the NFIB is endorsing a Senate bill (SB 240) that would end required auxiliary non-recyclable containers for businesses. The measure is sponsored by Sen. Ileana Garcia, a Miami Republican.

“NFIB supports legislation that preempts the regulation of single-use containers to the state,” the NFIB news release said.