Andrew Sund

Running for State Committeeman

Andrew Sund is the Chair of the Conservative Leadership Caucus, a grassroots organization committed to getting conservatives elected.

Prior to serving as chair of the CLC Andrew served as President of the Cape Coral Republican Club and Treasurer of the Republican Executive Committee.

A Floridian born and raised, Andrew has been involved in the community through his church, officiating youth sports, and local politics.

A graduate of Florida State University with a double major in Economics and Political Science Andrew works for an Automotive Marketing Agency as the Director of Digital Operations, managing the digital team and over $30 million in ad spend annually for small family dealerships, and some of the largest auto groups in the nation. 

Michael Thompson

Running for State Committeeman

Michael Thompson is the Chairman of the Lee County Republican Executive Committee and was the founding President of the East Lee Co. Republican Club. Before being elected as Chairman of the LCREC, Michael was the State Director for Florida for America First, empowered by The America Project. Under Michael's leadership, Florida for America First advocated for the America First Policy Agenda with a heavy focus on Election Integrity, 2nd Amendment, Medical Freedom & Parental Rights.

Michael is a native Floridian and has called Lee County, FL. home since 2001. Michael is also a Board Member at the East Lee County Chamber of Commerce and sits on the Lee County Disaster Advisory Council. Michael is the Broker/Owner of Sunrise Realty Network, Inc. located in Lee County, FL.

Krissy Houlihan

Running for State Committeewoman

Krissy was born and raised in St. Petersburg, FL, and then moved to Lee County to attend Florida Gulf Coast University. Krissy graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science in May of 2018, and she is currently pursuing her Masters in Public Administration also at FGCU.

Krissy served as the Legislative Assistant for Ray Rodrigues during his time in the Florida House of Representatives (2018-2020) and while he was Senator (2020-2022). She also served as Senator Jonathan Martin’s Legislative Assistant during the 2023 legislative session.

Krissy also served as the States National Committee Woman for the Florida Federation of Young Republicans during the 2022 Midterm Election Cycle. She was Chair of the Florida Federation of College Republicans during the 2018 cycle when Governor DeSantis was elected.

Krissy currently serves as Director of Government Affairs for a statewide non-profit organization based in Cape Coral. She also currently serves as the Secretary for the Southwest Florida Young Republicans.

Today Krissy resides in Cape Coral with her husband, Riley, and their four dogs.

Tara Jenner

Running for State Committeewoman

Tara Jenner, an America First constitutional conservative has a BA in Spanish and Juris Doctorate. She’s a US Air Force veteran having served as a JAG from 1989-1999, resigning with the rank of Major.

She was VP of the Christian Home Educators of Southwest Florida for two terms, ran her own business for 12 years, hosted numerous candidate “hot seats”, presented constitutional training, was a four year presenter at the Florida Parent-Educators Association’s annual convention, and has been actively involved in Lee County School Board events for over a decade. She developed training materials, workshops, and protocols for the Lee GOP. Further, she has attended all RPOF meetings as Vice Chair, forging relationships with many State Committeepeople and chairmen throughout Florida.

Tara’s husband of 32 years and children are also active precinct committee members in the Lee GOP.

www.TaraJenner.com, a resource that includes her answers to a constitutional questionnaire for candidates, also features handouts for vetting other candidate races, including judges.

Larry Wilcoxson

Running for State

Committeeman

I am Larry Wilcoxson. I am a proud original Florida Cracker as I was born in Naples and raised in Immokalee, Fl.

I have multiple collegiate degrees. One I'm most proud of is my Masters of Science in Divinity. I love God and am an ordained minister under Rev. Terry Mallory of First Missionary Baptist Church.

I have been heavily involved in politics since 2009. I was part of the original Tea Party Patriots with the late Barry Willoughby.

I co-founded Collier County Young Republican Club, worked on tons of campaigns, Senior Advisor to Congressman Byron Donalds, serve under Sr. Advisor Lynne Patton as a minority advisor to President Donald Trump and much more. Any questions I can be reached at (202)-600-0745

Melisa Giovannelli

Running for State Committeewoman

Melisa is a strong Lee County native that has spent the last 25 years successfully building a business in the local Real Estate Market while raising two children with her husband, Craig, a law enforcement officer at Lee County Port Authority. She was a 30-year active member of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship and now serving at Next Level Church. She freely gives of her time to various organizations including Edison Festival of Lights and the Boy Scouts of America Board. As a lifelong Republican Melisa is a dedicated to her community and the future of Lee County. The very first President she voted for was Ronald Reagan. She was elected to the Lee County School Board in 2016, and has been fighting for Republican values, accountability, transparency, and being fiscally conservative. Her history speaks for itself. Melisa W. Giovannelli (239)-470-7487.

Note: Melisa is unable to attend the debate due to previous commitments.