After poor election showing, Sarasota Democrats choose new party chair Daniel Kuether
Sarasota Democrats selected tech company worker Daniel Kuether as the party's new chair, replacing JoAnne DeVries, who opted not to run for re-election after six years in the job.
Kuether, 33, grew up in rural Ohio and moved to Sarasota four years ago with his husband, who is from the community. He works for a real estate tech company and ran for the District 4 County Commission seat this year, losing to Republican Joe Neunder.
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Democrats face big challenges in Republican-leaning Sarasota County and had few bright spots this election cycle, with Gov. Ron DeSantis easily carrying the county and Republicans winning most down ballot races, including competitive contests for the School Board and County Commission.
Kuether served as first vice chair of the party before taking over as chair. He noted in a press release that Democrat-backed candidates Jenn Ahearn-Koch and Debbie Trice won seats on the Sarasota City Commission this year, and that Democrats helped defeat an attempt to repeal the single-member County Commission district structure.
"While we can feel good about these achievements, we know we must find new ways to re-energize, re-organize, and re-establish ourselves in the community," Kuether said. "Again, I thank previous officers for their hard work, and we will continue to build upon the foundations they have created.”
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota Democrats choose new leader after DeSantis sparked red wave
