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Joe Gruters
2022 - Present
2026
2
2025 - Present
0
Joe Gruters (Republican Party) is an officeholder of the Republican Party Chair. He assumed office on August 22, 2025.
Gruters (Republican Party) is also a member of the Florida State Senate, representing District 22. He assumed office on November 8, 2022. His current term ends on November 3, 2026.
Gruters (Republican Party) is running for election for Florida Chief Financial Officer. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]
Gruters is also the chair of the Republican National Committee. He was elected to serve in that position on August 22, 2025.[1] As of August 22, 2025, Gruters served as the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida as well. He was elected to the position on January 12, 2019.[2] He is a former Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing District 73 from 2016 to 2018.
Gruters was a district-level delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Florida. All 99 delegates from Florida were bound to support Donald Trump for three ballots at the convention.[3][4] As of July 13, 2016, Trump had approximately 1,542 delegates. The winner of the Republican nomination needed the support of 1,237 delegates. Trump formally won the nomination on July 19, 2016.
Biography
Joe Gruters was born in Tampa, Florida. Gruters earned a B.S. from Florida State University in 1999 and an M.B.A. from the University of South Florida in 2003. His career experience includes working as a certified public accountant. Gruters has served as the chairman of the Sarasota County Planning Commission, on the Florida State University Board of Trustees, and on the Florida Sports Foundation Board of Directors.[5]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Gruters was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Appropriations Committee
- Commerce and Tourism Committee
- Community Affairs Committee
- Regulated Industries Committee, Chair
- Transportation Committee
- Joint Committee on Public Counsel Oversight, Chair
2021-2022
Gruters was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Rules Committee
- Banking and Insurance Committee
- Collective Bargaining Committee
- Commerce and Tourism Committee
- Education Pre-K - 12 Committee, Chair
- Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee, Vice Chair
- Regulated Industries Committee
2019-2020
Gruters was assigned to the following committees:
- Joint Committee on Public Counsel Oversight
- Banking and Insurance Committee
- Commerce and Tourism Committee, Chair
- Finance and Tax Committee, Vice Chair
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Florida committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Commerce |
| • Joint Legislative Auditing |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2026
See also: Florida Chief Financial Officer election, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for Florida Chief Financial Officer
Frank Collige, Joe Gruters, and Benjamin Horbowy are running in the general election for Florida Chief Financial Officer on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Frank Collige (R)  | |
 | Joe Gruters (R) | |
 | Benjamin Horbowy (R) | |
| ||||
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Endorsements
Gruters received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
- Former President Donald Trump (R)
2022
See also: Florida State Senate elections, 2022
General election
The general election was canceled. Incumbent Joe Gruters won election in the general election for Florida State Senate District 22.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Florida State Senate District 22
Incumbent Joe Gruters defeated Michael Johnson in the Republican primary for Florida State Senate District 22 on August 23, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joe Gruters | 66.9 | 85,696 |
 | Michael Johnson | 33.1 | 42,435 | |
| Total votes: 128,131 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Campaign finance
2020
See also: Florida State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Florida State Senate District 23
Incumbent Joe Gruters defeated Katherine Norman and Robert Samuel Kaplan in the general election for Florida State Senate District 23 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joe Gruters (R) | 57.7 | 188,126 |
 | Katherine Norman (D) | 40.3 | 131,491 | |
| Robert Samuel Kaplan (No Party Affiliation) | 2.1 | 6,696 | ||
| Total votes: 326,313 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Katherine Norman advanced from the Democratic primary for Florida State Senate District 23.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Joe Gruters advanced from the Republican primary for Florida State Senate District 23.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Greg Steube (R)
Campaign finance
2018
A special election for the position of Florida State Senate District 23 was called for November 6, 2018. A special primary election was called for August 28, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was June 22, 2018.[6]
The vacancy was created when Greg Steube (R) announced he would resign in order to run for U.S. Congress.
Faith Babis (D) faced Joe Gruters (R) in the special election. Neither candidate faced primary opposition.[7]
General election
General election for Florida State Senate District 23
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joe Gruters (R) | 56.5 | 143,346 |
 | Faith Babis (D) | 43.5 | 110,587 | |
| Total votes: 253,933 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
Elections for the Florida House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 30, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 24, 2016.
Joe Gruters defeated James T. Golden in the Florida House of Representatives District 73 general election.[8][9]
| Florida House of Representatives, District 73 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Joe Gruters |
65.08% | 68,343 | |
| Democratic | James T. Golden | 34.92% | 36,678 | |
| Total Votes | 105,021 | |||
| Source: Florida Division of Elections | ||||
James T. Golden ran unopposed in the Florida House of Representatives District 73 Democratic primary.[10][11]
| Florida House of Representatives, District 73 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | James T. Golden (unopposed) | |
Joe Gruters defeated Steve Vernon in the Florida House of Representatives District 73 Republican primary.[10][11]
| Florida House of Representatives, District 73 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Joe Gruters |
50.95% | 10,346 | |
| Republican | Steve Vernon | 49.05% | 9,961 | |
| Total Votes | 20,307 | |||
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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2022
Joe Gruters did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Joe Gruters did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
2016 Republican National Convention
Delegate rules
In Florida, delegates to the national convention were selected at congressional district conventions and the state executive meeting. All 99 delegates were bound for three ballots at the Republican National Convention to the winner of the statewide primary.
Florida primary results
- See also: Presidential election in Florida, 2016
| Florida Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
| Jeb Bush | 1.8% | 43,511 | 0 | |
| Ben Carson | 0.9% | 21,207 | 0 | |
| Chris Christie | 0.1% | 2,493 | 0 | |
| Ted Cruz | 17.1% | 404,891 | 0 | |
| Carly Fiorina | 0.1% | 1,899 | 0 | |
| Jim Gilmore | 0% | 319 | 0 | |
| Lindsey Graham | 0% | 693 | 0 | |
| Mike Huckabee | 0.1% | 2,624 | 0 | |
| John Kasich | 6.8% | 159,976 | 0 | |
| Rand Paul | 0.2% | 4,450 | 0 | |
| Marco Rubio | 27% | 638,661 | 0 | |
| Rick Santorum | 0.1% | 1,211 | 0 | |
| Donald Trump |
45.7% | 1,079,870 | 99 | |
| Totals | 2,361,805 | 99 | ||
| Source: The New York Times and Florida Department of State | ||||
Delegate allocation
Florida had 99 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 81 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's 27 congressional districts). District-level delegates were allocated on a winner-take-all basis; the candidate who won a plurality of the statewide vote received all of Florida's district delegates.[12][13]
Of the remaining 18 delegates, 15 served at large. At-large delegates were allocated on a winner-take-all basis; the candidate who won a plurality of the statewide vote received all of the state's at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention. The RNC delegates were required to pledge their support to the candidate who won the state's primary.[12][13]
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Florida scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Florida State Legislature was in session from January 9 to March 8.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 7 to May 5.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Florida State Legislature was in session from January 11 to March 14.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 2 to April 30.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Florida State Legislature was in session from January 14 to March 19.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 5 through May 3.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Florida State Legislature was in session from January 9 through March 11.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 7 through May 8. There was also a special session from June 7 to June 9.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Florida State Legislature was in session from January 12 through March 11.
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Noteworthy events
Selected as chairman of Republican National Committee (August 22, 2025)
|
|---|
| Coronavirus pandemic |
| Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more.
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On March 17, 2021, Gruters announced that he would self-quarantine after his wife tested positive for coronavirus.[14]
See also
2026 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Florida Chief Financial Officer |
Officeholder Florida State Senate District 22 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Republican National Committee elects Trump-backed Joe Gruters as chair," August 22, 2025
- ↑ WJCT, "Sarasota State Senator Is Florida's New GOP Chair," January 12, 2019
- ↑ Republican Party of Florida, "Florida GOP announces 99 delegates," May 14, 2016
- ↑ Republican Party of Florida, "Party Rules of Procedure," January 15, 2011
- ↑ The Florida Senate, "Senator Joe Gruters," accessed November 3, 2019
- ↑ Florida Department of State, "Notice of Special Election," May 4, 2018
- ↑ Florida Department of State, "Candidate Listing for 2018 Special Election - Senate 23 and 25," accessed August 21, 2018
- ↑ Florida Department of State, "Candidate listing for 2016 general election," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "November 8, 2016 Official Election Results," accessed November 23, 2016
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Florida Department of State, "Candidates and Races," accessed July 1, 2016
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Florida Division of Elections, "August 30, 2016 Official Election Results," accessed September 22, 2016
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Republican National Committee, "2016 Presidential Nominating Process," accessed October 6, 2015
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 CNN.com, "Republican National Convention roll call vote," accessed July 20, 2016
- ↑ Sarasota Herald-Tribune, "Sarasota Republican Sen. Joe Gruters leaves Capitol for home after COVID-19 contact," March 17, 2021
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Michael Whatley (R) |
Republican Party Chair 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by Kelli Stargel (R) |
Florida State Senate District 22 2022-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Florida State Senate District 23 2018-2022 |
Succeeded by Daniel Burgess (R) |
| Preceded by - |
Florida House of Representatives District 73 2016-2018 |
Succeeded by Tommy Gregory (R) |
| ||||||||||||||||
