TAMPA, Fla. – On February 8, the Hillsborough County Republican Executive Committee elected Carmen Edmonds, a Precinct Development Chair from Lutz, to replace the previous Chair, Dana Galen.
The Tampa Free Press reported on January 17 that Galen voluntarily resigned due to health concerns.
For the 2024 election cycle, Edmonds told Tampa Free Press to expect more opposing candidates to challenge Democrats, noting that previously unopposed incumbent Craig Latimer, Supervisor of Elections, and Dianne Hart, State House District 63, already have Republican challengers.
And there’s plenty of work to do.
Edmonds stated, “My vision and goal is to get more Republicans elected and foster unity among our party moving into the 2024 elections.”
Edmonds said her first task coming midstream into the two-year Chair position is to “make sure our committees are fully up and running once the election cycle gets here.
The committees include “Precinct Development,” “Get-Out-the-Vote,” “Election Integrity,” “Fundraising,” “Communications,” and others.
Edmonds indicated the former “Ballot Chasing” team is being re-implemented to ensure citizens who request early ballots get out to vote.
“We welcome citizens to inquire about the committees,” she added. “And once elections start to kick off, we can always use as many volunteers as possible to help us with the Get-Out-the-Vote initiative.”
On the social side for the public, right now, the Committee is gearing up for its annual Lincoln Day Dinner. “It’s our biggest annual fundraiser,” Edmonds said, speculating the event will likely occur in June.
She added, “We will be having some of our precinct committee people hosting meet-ups – we’re working on these now – and they’re offering their neighbors and volunteers to help with “Get-Out-the-Vote.”
A lifelong voting Republican, Edmonds scoured through Facebook during the COVID shutdown after she and her family relocated from the Midwest in 2019. She was determined to volunteer after leaving Kansas City.
She found a group called “Latinos for Trump,” where she helped train other volunteers, canvassed, and organized meet-ups under the local organizer. She has invested 20 to 40 hours per week of her adult life in Florida to Republican volunteering since joining the HCREC in Spring 2021. In her volunteer and leadership capacities, she has vigorously promoted not only the election of Trump but also DeSantis.
In 2022, as Area Leaders Coordinator, Edmonds worked with a group of area leaders and canvassed more doors than any other county in Florida for DeSantis and local candidates.
“As your Chair, I plan to keep these programs going, as well as expand upon our GOVT initiatives, fundraising, and helping equip our members with tools they need to be effective grassroots activists, work their precincts, and help turn our county fully red.”
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