Ormond By The Sea, FL - The head of Volusia County's Republican Party has passed away.
Tony Ledbetter died this morning (February 13th) from cancer, according to a Facebook post from the Volusia County Republican Party.
Ledbetter - whose official title was the Chair of the Volusia GOP - was the driving force behind many of the local GOP activities, including rallies for candidates like President Donald Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis.
A spokesperson for the Volusia GOP says his duties will be taken over in the interim by Marilyn Ford, whose husband - Port Orange City Council member and former city police chief Bob Ford - also passed away recently.
Ledbetter's tenure was marked by some controversy, including a 2016 criminal complaint filed by then-Volusia County Council Chair Jason Davis claiming Ledbetter tried to tip the scale for voters against him during the primary in favor of current Chair Ed Kelley. Those charges were dropped a few days later.
The GOP did see significant political gains locally during Ledbetter's time, including a sweep of local seats in the Florida House and Senate last November and moving the Republicans past the Democrats in terms of overall registered voters.
Elizabeth Fetterhoff - the DeLand Republican who won a close election in House District 26 - expressed her condolences to Ledbetter's family soon after the news broke.
"No matter which side of the political aisle you find yourself on, there can be no debate that, in Volusia County, Tony Ledbetter was and is a legend," Fetterhoff stated. "Today, we lost a champion."
The 71-year-old Ormond By The Sea resident became the county party chair in 2012. He also co-hosted "Trump Talk" on WNDB in 2017 with Vic Baker.
