Last week, Evan Turk announced his candidacy as State Committeeman. A run for committeeman is generally a quiet one. In this case, things took a boisterous turn for the well-known lawyer on social media. Michael A. Barnett, the Republican Party of Florida Chairman, took to his Facebook page.
In an unprovoked Facebook post by the chairman, Mr. Barnett appeared to endorse the incumbent. In the publically visible post he stated: “The same group of toxic, do-nothing malcontents who tried (and failed miserably) to take me out two years ago are now coming after our state committeeman Joe Budd.” The RPOF loyalty oath which is signed by every member, including Mr. Barnett. The oath states “in a contested primary election; I will not support the nomination of one Republican candidate over the other.” You might pause to ponder that Barnett doesn’t practice the oath. Barnett might claim that this is his personal Facebook page, which could give him more freedom. However, a review of his page shows an extensive photo gallery and pictures. All of these serve to illustrate the highlights of the large seat he’s occupied for the RPOF. Michael A. Barnett uses his page to draw attention to his position. The about section also lists him as “Chairman at Republican Party of Palm Beach County.”
Barnett went onto wage a personal attack on Evan Turk. He said that Turk was not concerned about getting the President re-elected if he didn’t support the incumbent. Mr. Budd’s involvement at the rally club, formerly known as the Trump 45 USA CLUB. Seems to be held in high regard. The club went through a recent name change to Club 45 U.S.A. It is unclear why they would strike out the President’s name. Evan took to Facebook, stating his frustration. He said that “There is little attention to the President’s home county when it comes to electing candidates for Republican office. “It astonishes me that in 2018, Lois Frankel won re-election to Congress without a single Republican challenger. That means that her sole vote was all that was necessary to put her in Congress. Her win was a failure to launch for the Republican Executive Committee, and this has become predictable over the last decade.” Mr. Turk’s response went onto state: “Didn’t Lois Frankel vote to impeach our President? By failing to support candidates running for election, we are part of the problem. I was at events supporting congressional candidates as recently as Tuesday. There has been little action by those who have taken to social media to disparage me and my purpose. My purpose is action, and they lack action.”
Upon review of the banter by the chairman promoting the incumbent, Barnett mocked Mr. Turk for running for office. Shockingly, he labelled him as a do-nothing malcontent and a joke, while supporting the acting State Committeeman and the Club 45 U.S.A. as an accomplishment. When asked for Mr. Turk’s comment, he stated: “ This club is a great asset to the Presidental election. Without question. I am supportive of their efforts. However, on a local level this social club, is a fraternity, for R.E.C. leadership. The fellowship of friends enjoy the comradery of endorsing their club friends for positions that do nothing to gather new Republicans to the party. They gang up on others who challenge the status quo.”
Mr. Turk’s goal is to gather involvement by Generation X, Y and Z that have virtually no representation. “When elected, I will be the voice of change that the Palm Beach R.E.C. needs. What is a ‘joke’ is the lack of accomplishments we have. It is unacceptable to have candidates run unopposed or with little to no support. This problem needs to be rectified immediately, or our values will have no say locally or nationally”.
Evan Turk will be on the Palm Beach County, Florida Republican Primary Ballot on August 18, 2020. Early voting begins on August 8, 2020.
