LAKE BUENA VISTA — For Republicans, it’s arguably the most important state chairman’s job in the nation.

The Republican Party of Florida will elect a chairman this morning. The winner will head the GOP in America’s largest competitive state during the 2012 presidential election, once-in-a-decade redistricting and the GOP national convention in Tampa.

Palm Beach County Republican Chairman Sid Dinerstein is one of five announced candidates. The others are Jefferson County Republican Committeeman Dave Bitner, Hillsborough County GOP Chairwoman Deborah Cox-Roush, Pinellas County GOP Committeeman Tony DiMatteo and Sarasota County Republican Chairman Joe Gruters.

After a polite candidates forum Friday night, about 250 party activists are eligible to vote this morning. Balloting begins at 9 a.m. If no candidate gets a majority on the first ballot, the top two will face each other in a runoff.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, January 15th, 2011 at 7:42 am and is filed under George Bennett, Republican Party of Florida, Sid Dinerstein. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.