There are three contenders for republican state committee man and two for the republican state committee woman. The primary function of this role is to register as many voters for the party as possible. The Primary Election will decide the man and woman for these roles.
Below, you’ll notice that OCN was only able to pull together three of the five profiles of the people vying for the position, which include Carmelo Belardo III, Phillip Paulk and Jesse Phillips for state committeeman and Vicky Cherry and Linda Trocine for committeewoman. OCN staff scoured the web for contacts and could not find information on Paulk.
What do state committee members do?
State Committeemen and Committeewomen are the representatives on the leadership team for their county political party. They’re in charge of rallying voters for their political party within their county jurisdiction and representing those voters to party leadership.
Examples of what the State Committeeman and Committeewoman does:
- Organizing get out the vote efforts
- Organizing voter registration drives
- Conducting strategy meetings with county party leadership
- Representing party voters
The role of State Committeeman or Committeewoman is typically a volunteer position.
Candidates (listed in alphabetical order to ensure fairness)
Carmelo Belardo III
Carmelo Belardo III, 54, is running for state committeeman for the Seminole County Republican Party. According to his campaign website he brings experience advocating for parental rights at school board meetings. He said he’s testified before the State House Committee on Voter Integrity, and has pushed to register more Republicans in Seminole County.
He works as an insurance agent and has two daughters who are Seminole County Schools graduates. Learn more.
Jesse Phillips
Jesse Phillips hails from Winter Springs, where he is a cofounder of the Winter Springs Community Association. He’s vice chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. He has helped organize get-out-the-vote efforts for Republican candidates, including vote-by-mail programs. He has also served as the secretary and committeeman of the Seminole County Republican Party.
He’s endorsed by more than a dozen local politicians, including U.S. Rep. Cory Mills and State Sen. Jason Brodeur. Learn more.
State Committeewoman
Vicky Cherry
Vicky Cherry, a resident of Sanford, calls herself a conservative patriot who promises to use her experience as a volunteer to “engage as many America-first, conservative patriots as possible”. Her campaign website says she’s pro life, biblical minded and champions transparency in government. Learn more.
Linda Trocine
Linda Trocine describes herself as a “joyful champion for Christ,” an engineer-scientist and a lifelong Republican super voter. She’s also the incumbent Seminole County State committeewoman.
She’s endorsed by more than 40 local, state and federal Republicans including Florida State Sen. Jason Brodeur, U.S. Rep. Cory Mills and former Republican Party of Florida Chairman Joe Gruters. Learn more.
Candidate Q&A
The candidates below are the folks who responded to OCN’s Q&A. It was explained to each candidate that the questions were based on voter questions and priorities. The order of and answers started alphabetically and then revolved for fairness.
Q: How will you work to motivate people to vote in the upcoming election?
Jesse Phillips: People are concerned about the difficulty of living in Joe Biden’s economy. The cost of mortgages, rent, gas, bread, eggs, baby food and electricity are all skyrocketing. Americans on average have lost $28,000 per household to a cumulative 20% Biden-flation increase. People are motivated to make a change this November.
Linda Trocine: As the incumbent, I’ve recruited, trained, supported and mentored dozens of volunteers over the past several years. Organizing volunteers on how to engage voters in the field and get out the vote (GOTV) each general election is proven to be successful in helping local Republicans win their elections.
Q: Do you have a goal in mind for the amount you hope to increase the registration rolls by?
Linda Trocine: The Republican voter registration advantage over Democrats has gone from parity four years ago to a 7,000 voter registration advantage today. Democrats are now in third place behind Republicans and “everyone else.” I’ve personally registered hundreds of new Republican voters and will continue to do so once re-elected.
Jesse Phillips: Because of our tireless volunteers, there are 7,000+ more Republicans than Democrats in Seminole [County] and 955,000+ more Republicans in Florida. We want a 1 million registration lead. Registrations don’t win elections, votes do! In 2022, Republicans got more votes in all 13 county partisan races. Our goal is to keep winning.
Q: Will you remain neutral about the candidates in the election?
Jesse Phillips: My passion is to support Republicans. I will not remain neutral in races in which a Republican runs against a non-Republican. We’ve got a country to save! I will also not remain neutral about the Constitutional amendments. We need to vote no on Amendment[s] 3 and 4, so that we don’t radically transform Florida.
Linda Trocine: Electing Republicans is the purpose of a State Committeewoman, which is an unpaid, unreimbursed volunteer position. Republicans are for life, for liberty, for the pursuit of happiness, and for common sense.
Q: Will you work to spread the word about the election outside of Election Day (for early voting or mail-in voting)? If yes, what do you plan to do?
Linda Trocine: As an engineer, I employ systematic methods of reaching voters as efficiently and effectively as possible, year round. Obviously, when a voter votes is their choice, whether early, by mail or on Election Day. I respect each voter’s preference and adapt to their preferences. Jesse Phillips: In Seminole County, we have been feverishly working the phones and doors to implement Florida GOP programs to turnout voters, focusing on pre-Election Day targets. As Vice Chairman of the Florida GOP, I have also rallied the troops in more than a dozen counties across the state, discussing our efforts to turnout voters.
Do you have questions or comments about this guide? Contact OCN staff here.
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