Palm Beach County Republicans in turmoil as chairman faces a ‘no-confidence’ vote

A deep fissure within the Palm Beach County Republican Party is leading to questions about its ability to mobilize voters and help its candidates in the 2024 elections, two years after it won several midterm victories.

More immediately, hundreds of Republican precinct committeemen and committeewomen from around the county have been summoned to a special meeting Thursday night in West Palm Beach, called by the party’s vice chair. The first item on the agenda: a “no-confidence” vote on the party chair, Kevin Neal, who was elected to the post just seven months ago.

Internal party fighting isn’t unique to Palm Beach County or the Republican Party. It flares up periodically across the state and country, and in both parties, often having little or nothing to do with policy and ideology.

Longtime Republican Party insiders — and Neal himself — along with emails and documents suggest a swirl of large and small controversies.